Category Archives: Determinants of Health
Family-centred approaches to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programmes have traditionally been narrow in scope, targeting biomedical interventions during the perinatal period, rather than considering HIV as a family disease. This...
The measurement of spirituality in palliative care and the content of tools validated cross-culturally: A systematic review
CONTEXT: Despite the need to assess spiritual outcomes in palliative care, little is known about the properties of the tools currently used to do so. In addition, measures of spirituality...
A systematic review of heterosexual anal intercourse and its role in the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Papua New Guinea
BACKGROUND: Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a high burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the highest adult HIV prevalence in the Pacific region. Despite this burden of disease, heterosexual...
A systematic review of qualitative findings on factors enabling and deterring uptake of HIV testing in Sub-Saharan Africa
BACKGROUND: Despite Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) being the epicenter of the HIV epidemic, uptake of HIV testing is not optimal. While qualitative studies have been undertaken to investigate factors influencing uptake...
Determinants of male involvement in maternal and child health services in sub-Saharan Africa: A review
INTRODUCTION: Male participation is a crucial component in the optimization of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services. This is especially so where prevention strategies to decrease Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of...
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of prenatal and postnatal vitamin A supplementation of HIV-infected women
We searched the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AIDSearch, and Gateway to assess the effect of prenatal and/or postnatal vitamin A supplementation on the risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV...
Social relationships and the progression of human immunodeficiency virus infection: A review of evidence and possible underlying mechanisms
We review studies examining the quality and quantity of social relationships as potential risk factors for differential progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Several well-conducted prospective studies suggest that...
A critical literature review to identify possible causes of higher rates of HIV infection among young black and Latino men who have sex with men
Black and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately impacted by HIV infection; however, the reason for this disparity is unclear. To identify possible causes of...
Non-physician clinician provided HIV treatment results in equivalent outcomes as physician-provided care: A meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: A severe healthcare worker shortage in sub-Saharan Africa is inhibiting the expansion of HIV treatment. Task shifting, the transfer of antiretroviral therapy (ART) management and initiation from doctors to...
