Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
Human immunodeficiency virus care and management in incarcerated populations in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2022: A narrative review
BACKGROUND: Different countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have established guidelines to reduce HIV transmission and improve its management in prisons. This narrative review aimed to examine established literature on HIV...
Burden of tuberculosis among vulnerable populations worldwide: An overview of systematic reviews
Background Tuberculosis is a communicable disease of public health concern that inequitably impacts the most vulnerable populations worldwide. Vulnerable populations are those with a high risk for tuberculosis disease and...
Best practice guidelines for professional nurses to provide self-management support to adults with tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus coinfection: A scoping review
BACKGROUND: Adults with tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus coinfection require professional nurses’ support to manage their illness, treatment and its effect on their daily lives. This scoping review maps recommendations in clinical...
Fracture-related wound infections following surgical treatment of fractures in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients: A meta-analysis
The meta-analysis aims to evaluate and compare fracture-associated wound infections (FAWIs) following surgical treatment of fractures in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and HIV-negative patients. Examinations comparing HIV-negative to HIV-negative for...
Prevalence and impact of HIV infections in patients with rheumatic heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Socioeconomic factors such as poor health and poor nutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may favour inflammatory reactions, thus contributing to the recurrence of rheumatic fever (RF) and thereby...
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...
Impact of differentiated service delivery models on retention in HIV care and viral suppression among people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Differentiated service delivery (DSD) models, such as adherence clubs (ACs), are client-centred approaches where clinically stable people living with HIV (PLHIV) meet to receive various services, including psychosocial support, brief...
Effectiveness of linkae to care and prevention interventions following HIV self-testing: A global systematic review and meta-analysis
Over 38.4 million people were living with HIV globally in 2021. The HIV continuum includes HIV testing, diagnosis, linkage to combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), and retention in care. An important...
