Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunocompromised patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Toxoplasma gondii has been suggested as an important opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We conducted a global meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs) of T. gondii infection...
Resourcing resilience: social protection for HIV prevention amongst children and adolescents in Eastern and Southern Africa
Adolescents are the only age group with growing AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in Eastern and Southern Africa, making HIV prevention research among this population an urgent priority. Structural deprivations are...
Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence in adults in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
With the introduction of more efficient treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV), improved epidemiological information is required at the country level to allow evidence-based policymaking for elaboration of national strategies...
Patient-reported barriers and facilitators to antiretroviral adherence in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
OBJECTIVE: To identify the range and frequency of patient-reported barriers and facilitators to antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). DESIGN: Studies from 2005-2016 were identified by searching 10...
Conceptualizing care continua: Lessons from HIV, hepatitis C virus, tuberculosis and implications for the development of improved care and prevention continua
BACKGROUND: To examine the application of continuum models to tuberculosis, HIV, and other conditions; to theorize the concept of continua; and to learn lessons that could inform the development of...
Association between antiretroviral therapy adherence and employment status: Systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between the employment status of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: We searched the Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central...
Seroprevalence and diagnosis of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis infections among blood donors
BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion is one of the most important therapeutic options of life-saving intervention for recipients who are in diseased or non-diseased conditions with severe blood loss. However, it is...
Incidence of hepatitis C in HIV positive and negative men who have sex with men 2000-2016: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: There is a need for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to synthesize the epidemiology, and the riskfactors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) among HIV-coinfected and HIV negative men who have...
Religion, spirituality, and HIV clinical outcomes: A systematic review of the literature
This systematic review evaluates the association between religion, spirituality and clinical outcomes in HIV-infected individuals. A systematic literature review was conducted for all English language articles published between 1980 and...
Diagnostic value and safety of stereotactic biopsy in acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients with intracranial lesions: Systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value and safety of stereotactic biopsy in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with intracranial lesions via meta-analysis. METHODS: Relevant cohort studies were identified through...
Patient-reported barriers to adherence to antiretroviral therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Maintaining high levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a challenge across settings and populations. Understanding the relative importance of different barriers to adherence will help inform the...
