Category Archives: People who use drugs
Scoping out the literature on mobile needle and syringe programs-review of service delivery and client characteristics, operation, utilization, referrals, and impact
BACKGROUND: Needle and syringe program (NSP) service delivery models encompass fixed sites, mobile services, vending machines, pharmacies, peer NSPs, street outreach, and inter-organizational agreements to add NSP services to other...
Strategies for improving the lives of US women aged 40 and above living with HIV/AIDS: An evidence map
BACKGROUND: While in its early years the HIV epidemic affected primarily the male and the young, nowadays, the population living with HIV/AIDS is approximately 24% women, and its age composition...
Randomized controlled trials of technology-based HIV/STI and drug abuse preventive interventions for African American and Hispanic youth: Systematic review
BACKGROUND: HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and drug abuse remain significant public health concerns in the United States, and African American and Hispanic youth are disproportionately affected. Although technology-based interventions are...
Contingency management interventions for HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis control among individuals with substance use disorders: A systematized review
Hepatitis, HIV and tuberculosis are significant and costly public health problems that disproportionately affect individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). Incentive-based treatment approaches (i.e., contingency management; CM) are highly effective...
Social network strategies to address HIV prevention and treatment continuum of care among at-risk and HIV-infected substance users: A systematic scoping review
Social network analysis (SNA) and social network-based interventions (SNI) are important analytical tools harnessing peer and family influences critical for HIV prevention and treatment among substance users. While SNA is...
Linkage to HIV care and its determinants in the late HAART era: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Poor engagement into HIV care limits the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) to improve survival and reduce transmission. The design of effective interventions to enhance linkage to care...
Global, regional, and country-level coverage of interventions to prevent and manage HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by the global HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemics. HIV and HCV prevention interventions for PWID include needle...
Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: A multistage systematic review
BACKGROUND: Sharing of equipment used for injecting drug use (IDU) is a substantial cause of disease burden and a contributor to blood-borne virus transmission. We did a global multistage systematic...
Prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among intravenous drug users: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Intravenous drug users (IDUs) have been demonstrated to be highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, the prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an important co-infected agent with HIV, among this...
Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses
BACKGROUND: Crack-cocaine use is prevalent largely in socio-economically marginalized populations in the Americas. Its use has been associated with diverse health outcomes, yet no recent or systematic reviews of these...
A historical review of HIV prevention and care initiatives in British Columbia, Canada: 1996-2015
INTRODUCTION: British Columbia has made significant progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV since 1996, when Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) became available. However, we currently lack a historical...