Category Archives: Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade
The safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced cancers and pre-existing chronic viral infections (Hepatitis B/C, HIV): A review of the available evidence
The treatment paradigm of several cancers has dramatically changed in recent years with the introduction of immunotherapy. Most oncology trials involving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIPs) have routinely excluded patients with...
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...
Utilizing a life course approach to examine HIV risk for black adolescent girls and young adult women in the United States: A systematic review of recent literature
Objective: Black female youth have been disproportionately burdened by the HIV epidemic. Emerging literature suggests that individual and social-structural factors may uniquely increase HIV risk within this population during key...
The effectiveness of treatment supporter interventions in antiretroviral treatment adherence in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of treatment supporter interventions (TSI) in improving ART adherence and viral suppression among adults living with HIV (PLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa. This...
Evidence on factors influencing contraceptive use and sexual behavior among women in South Africa: A scoping review
INTRODUCTION: Contraceptive use and sexual health behavior remain a prominent public health concern in South Africa (SA). Despite many government interventions, unintended pregnancies and termination of pregnancies remain relatively high....
Systematic review and meta-analysis of immune response of double dose of hepatitis B vaccination in HIV-infected patients
INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of co-infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is high and increases risk of hepatitis B chronicity and mortality. Despite guidelines for HIV-infected...
Two’s a company, three’s a crowd: A review of initiating or switching to a two-drug antiretroviral regimen in treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients living with HIV-1
INTRODUCTION: As HIV has become a manageable chronic condition, a renewed and increased interest in challenging traditional three-drug HIV therapies and moving toward two-drug regimens (2DR) for initial or maintenance...
Therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids: An evidence mapping and appraisal of systematic reviews
BACKGROUND: Although cannabis and cannabinoids are widely used with therapeutic purposes, their claimed efficacy is highly controversial. For this reason, medical cannabis use is a broad field of research that...
Verification of HIV self-testing use and results: A global systematic review
HIV self-testing (HIVST) allows individuals to interpret and report their own test results, thus decentralizing testing. Yet, this decentralization can make it difficult to verify self-testing results, which is important...