Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
The potential of telecommunication technology to address racial/ethnic disparities in HIV PrEP awareness, uptake, adherence, and persistence in care: A review
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing new HIV infection, but uptake remains challenging among Black and Hispanic/Latino persons. The purpose of this review was to understand how studies...
Effectiveness and safety of atazanavir use for the treatment of children and adolescents living with HIV: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Atazanavir/ritonavir is recommended as a preferred second-line antiretroviral regimen in children older than 3 months, alternatively to lopinavir/ritonavir. We performed a systematic review to assess safety and effectiveness of...
HIV testing uptake according to opt-In, opt-out or risk-based testing approaches: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Purpose of review: Improving HIV testing uptake is essential to ending the HIV pandemic. HIV testing approaches can be opt-in, opt-out or risk-based. This systematic review examines and compares the uptake...
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence for community-based HIV testing on men’s engagement in the HIV care cascade
OBJECTIVE: Men with HIV are less likely than women to know their status, be on antiretroviral therapy, and be virally suppressed. This review examined men’s community-based HIV testing services (CB-HTS)...
Do couple-based interventions show larger effects in promoting HIV preventive behaviors than individualized interventions in couples? A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials
This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compare the effects of couple-based prevention interventions against individual-level interventions on HIV prevention in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), identify potential moderators, and assess...
Colliding epidemics: Research gaps and implementation science opportunities for tobacco use and HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries
INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use is a leading cause of cancer death among people living with HIV (PLWH) worldwide, and smoking prevalence tends to be higher among PLWH. The burden of both...
The effect of universal voluntary HIV counseling and testing on epidemiological, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
BACKGROUND: Despite progress in reducing global HIV-related mortality, the decrease in the rate of HIV incidence remains slow. As such, HIV testing remains crucial to the prevention of HIV and...
Health related quality of life and its association with social support among people living with HIV/AIDS receiving antiretroviraltherapyin Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are frequently confronted with severe social issues such as rejection, abandonment, criticism, and stigma. This would negatively affect their quality of life. Several studies...
Perceived stigma and its association with gender and disclosure status among people living with HIV/AIDS and attending antiretroviral therapy clinics in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The psychological experience of being rejected, blamed, and ashamed in relation to a recognized medical disease is known as perceived stigma. It has a close connection to psychological health...
Early diagnosis, vertical transmission of HIV and its associated factors among exposed infants after implementation of the Option B+ regime in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction Despite scaling up programmes to prevent vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), over 400 children are infected every day globally. Guidelines recommend that all HIV-exposed infants should be...
Post tuberculosis chronic lung disease in tuberculosis HIV coinfected and non-HIV individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Post tuberculosis (TB) sequelae are faced by many individuals who survive TB. The most common of all is post-TB chronic lung disease (CLD) and pulmonary impairment. We reviewed studies...
Treatment outcomes of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients with or without human immunodeficiency virus co-infection in Africa and Asia: Systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Treatment outcomes of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) is a challenge, especially in resource limited settings. The aim of this study was to compare whether Human Immune Virus (HIV) has...
