Category Archives: Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade
What will it take for the global plan priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV?
BACKGROUND: The 2016 ‘Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free’ global agenda, builds on the 2011-2015 ‘Global Plan’. It prioritises 22 countries where 90% of the world’s HIV-positive pregnant women live...
Use of an indeterminate range in HIV early infant diagnosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Expanded access to HIV antiretrovirals has dramatically reduced mother-to-child transmission of HIV. However, there is increasing concern around false-positive HIV test results in perinatally HIV-exposed infants but few insights...
Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on HIV-infected adults: A systematic review
Introduction: Introduction: much evidence confirms that vitamin D may be associated with an improvement in CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected individuals, where antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used and associated with...
Barriers and facilitators to the successful transition of adolescents living with HIV from pediatric to adult care in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review and policy analysis
The purpose of this systematic review was twofold. First, we sought to summarize the literature on barriers and facilitators to successful healthcare transition for adolescents living with HIV from low-...
Adherence to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis for children/adolescents who have been sexually assaulted: A systematic review of barriers, enablers, and interventions
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a key intervention for preventing HIV acquisition, including following sexual assault. However, uptake and completion rates for HIV PEP are lowest following sexual assault, with only...
Interventions to reduce gender-based violence among young people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in low-income and middle-income countries
OBJECTIVE(S): This study explored the effectiveness of gender-based violence (GBV) interventions on young people living with or affected by HIV in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). DESIGN: Systematic review and...
Peer-led self-management Interventions and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV: A systematic review
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLWH). However, adherence remains suboptimal, and PLWH may benefit from more self-management support...
Dolutegravir based antiretroviral therapy compared to other combined antiretroviral regimens for the treatment of HIV-infected naive patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Numerous randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were conducted to evaluate dolutegravir based triple antiretroviral therapy (ART) compared to other triple antiretroviral regimens in naive patients, and a summary of the...
Getting youth PrEPared: Adolescent consent laws and implications for the availability of PrEP among youth in countries outside of the United States
INTRODUCTION: Youth under the age of 25 are at high risk for HIV infection. While pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has the potential to curb new infections within this population, it is...
Barriers to the use of mobile health in improving health outcomes in developing countries: Systematic review
BACKGROUND: The use of mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve population-level health outcomes around the world has surged in the last decade. Research supports the use of mHealth apps to...
