Category Archives: People who use drugs
Global prevalence of HCV and/or HBV coinfections among people who inject drugs and female sex workers who live with HIV/AIDS: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Coinfections of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and/or hepatitis B virus (HBV) with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) are associated with high morbidity and mortality and poor prognosis. The main...
Injecting risk behaviours amongst people who inject drugs: A global multi-stage systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Injecting risk behaviour, such as receptive sharing of injecting equipment and/or re-using one’s equipment, is associated with bloodborne virus transmission and infections in people who inject drugs (PWID). We...
mHealth and opportunities in anti-retroviral adherence in HIV, a diverse group of patients with diverse and unique opportunities: A narrative review
BACKGROUND: Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are key in the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). While no cure exists, ARVs help patients live healthy lives and prevent transmission to others. However, adherence...
HIV and drug related stigma and risk-taking behaviors among people who inject drugs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
The impact of HIV-related stigma on people living with HIV has been well documented, but there have been few studies examining how drug-related stigma impacts risk-taking in the lives of...
Socio-demographic and ecological factors associated with anti-HCV prevalence in people who inject drugs: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) aim to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health threat by 2030. People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key risk group...
Effectiveness of interventions for changing HIV related risk behaviours among key populations in low-income setting: A meta-analysis, 2001-2016
The aim of this review was to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of behavioural interventions to reduce HIV-related risk behaviours among key populations: people who inject drugs, female...
A global meta-analysis of the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus among people who inject drugs — Do gender-based differences vary by country-level indicators?
BACKGROUND: Women-specific factors exist that increases vulnerability to drug-related harms from injection drug use, including blood-borne viruses (BBVs), but gender-based differences in BBV prevalence have not been systematically examined. METHODS:...
Possible benefits of providing safe supply of substances to people who use drugs during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic
Key take-home messages Safe supply is an approach that focuses on saving lives by prescribing pharmaceutical grade substances such as opioids and stimulants to individuals at risk of overdose and...
The PrEP care continuum among cisgender women who sell sex and/or use drugs globally: A systematic review
HIV prevalence among cisgender female sex workers (FSW) and/or women who use drugs (WWUD) is substantially higher compared to similarly aged women. Consistent with PRISMA guidelines, we conducted the first...
HIV testing strategies outside of health care settings in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA): A systematic review to inform European centre for disease prevention and control guidance
OBJECTIVES: In recent years, new technologies and new approaches to scale up HIV testing have emerged. The objective of this paper was to synthesize the body of recent evidence on...
