Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
Human immunodeficiency disease: How should it affect surgical decision making?
BACKGROUND: The ever-increasing prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the continued improvement in clinical management has increased the likelihood of surgery being performed on patients with this infection....
Can hepatitis C virus prevalence be used as a measure of injection-related human immunodeficiency virus risk in populations of injecting drug users? An ecological analysis
BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outbreaks occur among injecting drug users (IDUs), but where HIV is low insight is required into the future risk of increased transmission. The relationship between...
Mortality rates in people dually infected with HIV-1/2 and those infected with either HIV-1 or HIV-2: a systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE:: As compared to HIV-1 infection, HIV-2 is less transmissible, disease progression is slower, and the mortality risk is lower. It has been suggested that HIV-2 infection inhibits the progression...
Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Female sex workers are a population who are at heightened risk of HIV infection secondary to biological, behavioural, and structural risk factors. However, three decades into the HIV pandemic,...
What data are available on the extent of illicit drug use and dependence globally? Results of four systematic reviews
BACKGROUND: We systematically reviewed availability and quality of data on the prevalence of use and dependence on meth/amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioids. METHODS: Multiple search strategies: (a) peer-reviewed literature searches...
Role and outcomes of community health workers in HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Introduction: The provision of HIV treatment and care in sub-Saharan Africa faces multiple challenges, including weak health systems and attrition of trained health workers. One potential response to overcome these...
Microenterprise development interventions for sexual risk reduction: A systematic review
Comprehensive interventions that address both individual and structural determinants associated with HIV/STI risk are gaining increasing attention over the past decade. Microenterprise development offers an appealing model for HIV prevention...
Intravaginal practices, bacterial vaginosis, and HIV infection in women: Individual participant data meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Identifying modifiable factors that increase women’s vulnerability to HIV is a critical step in developing effective female-initiated prevention interventions. The primary objective of this study was to pool individual...
Impact of parent-child communication interventions on sex behaviors and cognitive outcomes for black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino youth: A systematic review, 1988-2012
PURPOSE: We reviewed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI)- behavioral interventions implemented with disproportionately affected black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino youth and designed to improve parent-child communications about sex....
Livelihood security and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in low and middle income settings: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: We sought to examine the association between livelihood security and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) in low- and middle-income countries (LIMC). METHODS: Performing a systematic review, we searched, independently...
