Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
Interventions to enhance healthcare utilisation among pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries: a review of systematic reviews
BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) has reduced considerably over the past three decades, but it remains high. Effective interventions are available, but their uptake and coverage...
Fecal microbiota transplantation in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient population: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection suffer from alterations in gut microbiota due to recurrent gastrointestinal infections and systemic inflammation. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) appears to be a...
Prevalence and predictors of virological failure in pediatric patients on HAART in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Antiretroviral treatment failure has emerged as a challenge in the management of pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, especially in resource-limited countries despite accessibility to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)....
The experience of healthcare workers to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis has been extensively documented. However, there are substantial gaps between the actual implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis and the ideal goal, especially in low-and middle-income...
Prevalence and trends of advanced HIV disease among antiretroviral therapy-naive and antiretroviral therapy-experienced patients in South Africa between 2010-2021: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Despite the significant progress made in South Africa in getting millions of individuals living with HIV into care, many patients still present or re-enter care with Advanced HIV Disease...
Current ARTs, virologic failure, and implications for AIDS management: A systematic review
Antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) have revolutionized the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, significantly improved patient outcomes, and reduced the mortality rate and incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However,...
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, a controversial burden in the East African context: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction It is well established that starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) increases a patient’s life expectancy among HIV-positive individuals. Considering the HIV pandemic, the major concern is initiation of ARTs to...
Morbidity and mortality in tuberculosis associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in children living with HIV: A narrative review
Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution syndrome (TB-IRIS) is an increasingly recognized complication of children living with HIV who are receiving treatment for active tuberculosis (TB). The purpose of the study was to...
Attrition one year after starting antiretroviral therapy before and after the programmatic implementation of HIV “Treat All” in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction Evidence on the real-world effects of “Treat All” on attrition has not been systematically reviewed. We aimed to review existing literature to compare attrition 12 months after antiretroviral therapy (ART)...
Systematic review of prevalence and risk factors of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors, and blood safety improvements in Southern Africa
Blood and blood products are listed as one of the essential medicines by the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to inadequate supply, most sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) nations fail to...
Global type-specific genital human papillomavirus prevalence in men, by sexual orientation: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Knowledge on genital type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence among men is important for prevention of HPV-related cancers and other diseases. Men who have sex with men (MSM) have higher...
