Category Archives: Children or Youth (less than 18 years old)
The effect of human immunodeficiency virus and cytomegalovirus infection on infant responses to vaccines: A review
The success of prevention of mother to child transmission programs over the last two decades has led to an increasing number of infants who are exposed to human immunodeficiency virus...
Factors impacting antiretroviral therapy adherence among human immunodeficiency virus-positive adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
OBJECTIVES: Eighty-two percent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive adolescents live in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), adherence levels are suboptimal, leading to poor outcomes. This...
Age-specific global prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and tuberculosis among incarcerated people: A systematic review
PURPOSE: This study aims to compare the global prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and tuberculosis in incarcerated adolescents and young adults (AYAs) and older prisoners. METHODS: This study...
The impact of programs for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV on health care services and systems in sub-Saharan Africa – A review
Background: The global scale-up of Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services is credited for a 52% worldwide decline in new HIV infections among children between 2001 and 2012. However, the...
Male partner involvement in increasing the uptake of infant antiretroviral prophylaxis/treatment in sub Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Infant antiretroviral prophylaxis plays an important role towards ensuring the reduction of HIV transmission from mother to child in the postpartum period. However in sub Saharan Africa (SSA), the...
The impact of approaches in improving male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV on the uptake of maternal antiretroviral therapy among HIV-seropositive pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and m
OBJECTIVES: To identify the approaches that are used in improving on male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and their impact on the uptake maternal...
Interventions to significantly improve service uptake and retention of HIV-positive pregnant women and HIV-exposed infants along the prevention of mother-to-child transmission continuum of care: Systematic review
OBJECTIVES: Despite the success of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes, low uptake of services and poor retention pose a formidable challenge to achieving the elimination of vertical...
Universal antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected children: A review of the benefits and risks to consider during implementation
BACKGROUND: The 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection, recommended to start all HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy...
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate safety for women and their infants during pregnancy and breastfeeding
OBJECTIVES: Pregnant/lactating women in some sub-Saharan Africa settings are at substantial risk of HIV acquisition and could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), but safety data...
Neurodevelopment in young children born to HIV-infected mothers: A meta-analysis
CONTEXT: HIV-infected (HIV+) children have worse neurodevelopmental outcomes compared with HIV-uninfected children. However, little is known regarding the differences in neurodevelopment between young HIV+ children, HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU) children,...
Interventions to improve antiretroviral therapy adherence among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the literature
INTRODUCTION: Globally, an estimated 30% of new HIV infections occur among adolescents (15-24 years), most of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, HIV-related mortality increased by 50% between 2005 and...
