Category Archives: Women
What are the benefits and barriers of communicating parental HIV status to seronegative children and the implications for Jamaica? A narrative review of the literature in low/middle income countries
OBJECTIVE: To examine the benefits/barriers for HIV positive parents of communicating their status to seronegative children in low/middle income countries in order to inform policy and practice in Jamaica. METHODS:...
Hormonal contraceptive methods and risk of HIV acquisition in women: A systematic review of epidemiological evidence
Whether use of various types of hormonal contraception (HC) affect risk of HIV acquisition is a critical question for women’s health. For this systematic review, we identified 22 studies published...
Barriers to successful implementation of prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programmes in Malawi and Nigeria: A critical literature review study
Mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) of HIV still remains a significant route of new HIV infection in children in Malawi and Nigeria, despite the introduction of Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programmes in both...
The cost and cost-effectiveness of gender-responsive interventions for HIV: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Harmful gender norms and inequalities, including gender-based violence, are important structural barriers to effective HIV programming. We assess current evidence on what forms of gender-responsive intervention may enhance the...
Hepatitis C in Children Co-infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this systematic review was to summarize evidence regarding hepatitis C in hepatitis C virus/human immunodeficiency virus (HCV/HIV)-co-infected children focusing on mother-to-child transmission, clinical and laboratory features,...
Association between maternal HIV infection and low birth weight and prematurity: A meta-analysis of cohort studies
BACKGROUND: To assess the association between maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and low birth weight (LBW)/prematurity (PTD), we conducted a meta-analysis of cohort studies of HIV infected and uninfected...
A systematic review of individual and contextual factors affecting ART initiation, adherence, and retention for HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women
BACKGROUND: Despite progress reducing maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain high, accounting, for example, for up to 24 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is...
A systematic review of the inclusion (or exclusion) of women in HIV research: From clinical studies of antiretrovirals and vaccines to cure strategies
INTRODUCTION: The effect of clinical interventions can differ due to sex/gender. Studies have shown that women are often underrepresented in medical research. The aim of this systematic literature review was...
Perinatal depression in HIV-infected African women: A systematic review
OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on prevalence and incidence of perinatal depression in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected African women. DATA SOURCES: We searched 17 databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane,...
Pregnancy and HIV disease progression: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether pregnancy accelerates HIV disease progression. METHODS: Studies comparing progression to HIV-related illness, low CD4 count, AIDS-defining illness, HIV-related death, or any death in HIV-infected pregnant and...
Intimate partner violence and engagement in HIV care and treatment among women: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to estimate the odds of engagement in HIV care and treatment among HIV-positive women reporting intimate partner violence (IPV). DESIGN: We systematically reviewed the literature on the...
