Category Archives: Engagement and Care Cascade
Social media and HIV: A systematic review of uses of social media in HIV communication
BACKGROUND: Social media, including mobile technologies and social networking sites, are being used increasingly as part of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment efforts. As an important avenue for...
Interventions to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Africa: A network meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is necessary for the improvement of the health of patients and for public health. We sought to determine the comparative effectiveness of different interventions...
The cost and impact of scaling up pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: A systematic review of cost-effectiveness modelling studies
BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness studies inform resource allocation, strategy, and policy development. However, due to their complexity, dependence on assumptions made, and inherent uncertainty, synthesising, and generalising the results can be difficult....
Effectiveness of protease inhibitor monotherapy versus combination antiretroviral maintenance therapy: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The unparalleled success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is based on the combination of three drugs from two classes. There is insufficient evidence whether simplification to ritonavir boosted protease...
A narrative review of research on the effects of physical activity on people living with HIV and opportunities for health promotion in disadvantaged settings
The article explores different types and effects of physical activity for people living with HIV. Considering the lack of studies done in African contexts and the disparity between research settings...
Self-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 infection and virologic treatment response: A meta-analysis
Background: Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for HIV-1 infection is essential for plasma HIV-1 RNA suppression. Self-report is the most frequently used measure of adherence to HAART, but...
The impact of community mobilisation on HIV prevention in middle and low income countries: A systematic review and critique.
While community mobilisation (CM) is increasingly advocated for HIV prevention, its impact on measurable outcomes has not been established. We performed a systematic review of the impact of CM within...
Highly active antiretroviral therapy and sexual risk behavior: A meta-analytic review
Context: Evidence suggests that since highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) became available, the prevalence of unprotected sex and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have increased. Objective: To conduct...
Risks and benefits of lifelong antiretroviral treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women: A review of the evidence for the Option B+ approach
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Considerable debate has emerged on whether Option B+ (B+), initiation of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, is the best approach to achieving...
Development and validation of decision rules to guide frequency of monitoring CD4 cell count in HIV-1 infection before starting antiretroviral therapy
Although CD4 cell count monitoring is used to decide when to start antiretroviral therapy in patients with HIV-1 infection, there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding its optimal frequency. It is...
Improved access to early infant diagnosis is a critical part of a child-centric prevention of mother-to-child transmission agenda
BACKGROUND: Prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) programs have made it possible to achieve dramatic reductions in the rate of vertical HIV transmission. However, high attrition, particularly after delivery, has limited the impact of...
