Category Archives: Substance Use
Redressing the epidemics of opioid overdose and HIV among people who inject drugs in Central Asia: The need for a syndemic approach
BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that opioid overdose and HIV infection are burgeoning intertwined epidemics among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Central Asia. To date, however, research on overdose and...
Meta-analysis of interventions for reducing number of sexual partners and drug and alcohol abuse among people living with HIV/AIDS
OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of risk reduction interventions on HIV-related risk behaviors among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). METHODS: Studies included in the...
Effectiveness of interventions to improve the health and housing status of homeless people: A rapid systematic review
BACKGROUND: Research on interventions to positively impact health and housing status of people who are homeless has received substantially increased attention over the past 5 years. This rapid review examines...
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome among drug users: A systematic review
AIMS: Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is a key predictor of survival for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people. Suboptimal adherence among marginalized populations such as HIV-positive drug users...
HIV among female sex workers in the Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, and Mongolia: Contexts and convergence with drug use
BACKGROUND: Central Asia is culturally and demographically diverse, both between and within its respective countries. That diversity is represented in the range of individual, network, community, and structural risks for...
Economic evaluation of drug abuse treatment and HIV prevention programs in pregnant women: A systematic review
Drug abuse and transmission of HIV during pregnancy are public health problems that adversely affect pregnant women, their children and surrounding communities. Programs that address this vulnerable population have the...
The efficacy of methadone maintenance interventions in reducing illicit opiate use, HIV risk behavior and criminality: a meta-analysis
XST: This is a critical abstract of a systematic review that meets the criteria for inclusion on DARE. Each critical abstract contains a brief summary of the review methods, results...
Does opioid substitution treatment in prisons reduce injecting-related HIV risk behaviours? A systematic review
OBJECTIVES: To review systematically the evidence on opioid substitution treatment (OST) in prisons in reducing injecting-related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviours. METHODS: Systematic review in accordance with guidelines of...
A systematic review to quantitatively evaluate ‘Stepping Stones’: A participatory community-based HIV/AIDS prevention intervention
This first independent systematic review examined evidence for the effectiveness of the stepping stones intervention in HIV prevention. To reduce HIV transmission it addresses gender roles and promotes equitable relationships....
Non-injection drug use and HIV disease progression in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy
Little is known about the effects of non-injection drug use (NIDU) on HIV antiretroviral treatment outcomes. We conducted a systematic literature search and identified nine publications from prospective cohort studies...
