Category Archives: Substance Use
Strategies for improving the lives of US women aged 40 and above living with HIV/AIDS: An evidence map
BACKGROUND: While in its early years the HIV epidemic affected primarily the male and the young, nowadays, the population living with HIV/AIDS is approximately 24% women, and its age composition...
Meeting the reproductive health needs of female key populations affected by HIV in low- and middle-income countries: A review of the evidence
Female sex workers and other women at high risk of acquiring HIV have the right to sexual and reproductive health, including the right to determine the number and timing of...
Interferon-free direct-acting antiviral therapy for acute hepatitis C virus infection in HIV-infected individuals: A literature review
Dramatic rises in hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection rates in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals have been observed recently, largely attributable to increasing recreational drug use combined with increased testing...
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean: Systematic review and meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: Optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy is closely related with suppression of the HIV viral load in plasma, slowing disease progression and decreasing HIV transmission rates. Despite its importance, the...
Zoonotic and vector-borne infections among urban homeless and marginalized people in the United States and Europe, 1990-2014
INTRODUCTION: In high-income countries, homeless individuals in urban areas often live in crowded conditions with limited sanitation and personal hygiene. The environment of homelessness in high-income countries may result in...
Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses
BACKGROUND: Crack-cocaine use is prevalent largely in socio-economically marginalized populations in the Americas. Its use has been associated with diverse health outcomes, yet no recent or systematic reviews of these...
Does being drunk or high cause HIV sexual risk behavior? A systematic review of drug administration studies
HIV sexual risk behavior is broadly associated with substance use. Yet critical questions remain regarding the potential causal link between substance use (e.g., intoxication) and HIV sexual risk behavior. The...
Psychosocial syndemic correlates of sexual compulsivity among men who have sex with men: A meta-analysis
Efforts have been made to better understand sexual compulsivity by examining salient psychosocial syndemic correlates, though examination of such factors has yielded inconclusive results. Given that research on sexual compulsivity...
Health technology-enabled interventions for adherence support and retention in care among US HIV-infected adolescents and young adults: An integrative review
The objective of this integrative review was to describe current US trends for health technology-enabled adherence interventions among behaviorally HIV-infected youth (ages 13-29 years), and present the feasibility and efficacy...
What leads some people to think they are HIV-positive before knowing their diagnosis? A systematic review of psychological and behavioural correlates of HIV-risk perception
Current HIV-risk perception refers to the extent to which individuals think they might be HIV-positive. This belief, distinct from the perceived risk about being infected with HIV in the future,...
Meta-analysis of alcohol and serodiscordant condomless sex among people living with HIV
While observational studies have found that alcohol consumption is associated with serodiscordant condomless sex among people living with HIV (PLHIV), no meta-analysis has yet examined this trend. We conducted a...
