Category Archives: Prevention
Impact of mHealth on enhancing pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence and strengthening the HIV prevention cascade among key populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background Good adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is critical for effective HIV prevention. Despite the growing awareness of PrEP, many individuals remain at a preliminary understanding stage and struggle to...
Free antiretrovirals as a key tool against the HIV pandemic: A systematic review
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs remains a critical challenge in achieving the WHO/UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, with medication costs representing a substantial barrier. This systematic review evaluates the effect of...
Pharmacokinetic adaptations in pregnancy: Implications for optimizing antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive women
Pregnancy introduces significant physiological changes that alter the pharmacokinetics (PK) of antiretroviral therapy (ART), impacting its safety and efficacy in HIV-positive women. Optimizing ART during pregnancy is critical to maintaining...
The key design features and effectiveness of social network interventions for HIV testing and linkage services in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: HIV remains a global health challenge with a reported 39 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in 2022. Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific are home to 82% of...
Harms associated with injecting in public spaces: A global systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Despite increasing backlash against harm reduction efforts and the need to understand the risk environments encountered by people who inject drugs (PWID), a quantitative systematic review on public injecting...
Health educational interventions for adolescents living with HIV: A scoping review
BACKGROUND: Adolescents living with HIV face unique challenges as they gain greater independence while transitioning into adulthood. They must adjust their self-management activities and take primary responsibility for their health,...
Measuring mobility in HIV research in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review
INTRODUCTION: Mobility-from overnight travel to permanent migration-can reduce service access and increase HIV risk, driving the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review described mobility measures used in HIV...
Systematic review of infodemiology studies using artificial intelligence: Social media posts on HIV preexposure prophylaxis
OBJECTIVES: To explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance infodemiology, which distributes and scans information in the electronic medium, to process social media posts for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). DESIGN:...
Estimating the effect of maternal viral load on perinatal and postnatal HIV transmission: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background Although a growing body of evidence supports zero risk of sexual HIV transmission from a person with sustained virological suppression, known as U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable), data have been...