Category Archives: Biomedical interventions
Helping our patients take HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): A systematic review of adherence interventions
OBJECTIVES: Adherence is critical for maximizing the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in preventing HIV infection. Strategies for promoting adherence to HIV treatment, and their potential application to PrEP adherence,...
Male involvement in prevention programs of mother to child transmission of HIV: A systematic review to identify barriers and facilitators
BACKGROUND: Many reports point to the beneficial effect of male partner involvement in programs for the prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in curbing pediatric HIV infections. This paper summarizes...
Impact of antiretroviral drugs in pregnant women and their children in Africa: HIV resistance and treatment outcomes
The global community has committed itself to eliminating new pediatric HIV infections by 2015 and improving maternal, newborn, and child health and survival in the context of HIV. Such objectives...
Topical microbicides for prevention of sexually transmitted infections
BACKGROUND: Two decades of research on topical microbicides for prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have had limited success. However, new microbicide randomised controlled trial (RCT) data have recently been...
Effectiveness of sport-based HIV prevention interventions: A systematic review of the evidence.
Interest in sport as a tool for behavioral HIV prevention has grown substantially in the past decade. With dozens of organisations now using sport-based HIV prevention (SBHP) approaches and upcoming...
Influence of maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV): A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Maternal co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been implicated as a potentially important co-factor for enhanced vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV). In previous reports, however, methodological...
Nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis following sexual assault in industrialized low-HIV-prevalence countries: A review
Although available for over a decade, use of nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (nPEP) remains controversial in the United States. There are concerns over sexual assault survivors’ adherence, or lack thereof, leading...
Integrating prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programs to improve uptake: A systematic review
Background: We performed a systematic review to assess the effect of integrated perinatal prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV interventions compared to non- or partially integrated services on the uptake...
Impact of viral load and the duration of primary infection on HIV transmission: Systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: HIV ‘treatment as prevention’ (TasP) describes early treatment of HIV-infected patients intended to reduce viral load and transmission. Crucial assumptions for estimating TasP’s effectiveness are the underlying estimates of...
Mannose-binding lectin and the risk of HIV transmission and disease progression in children: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) can activate the complement system by binding to carbohydrates, such as those presented on the HIV virion surface. It is unclear whether genetically determined MBL deficiency...
Determinants of male involvement in maternal and child health services in sub-Saharan Africa: A review
INTRODUCTION: Male participation is a crucial component in the optimization of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services. This is especially so where prevention strategies to decrease Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of...
Male circumcision for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection: A meta-analysis of randomized trials involving 11,050 men
OBJECTIVES: Observational studies and a small collection of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggest that male circumcision may significantly reduce HIV transmission between sero-discordant contacts. The Joint United Nations Programme on...
