Category Archives: Health Systems
Psychotherapy for comorbid depression and somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The treatment of depression in patients with somatic disorders is crucial, given its negative impact on quality of life (QoL), functioning, and even on the somatic disease prognosis. We...
Barriers to and enablers of uptake of antiretroviral therapy in integrated HIV and tuberculosis treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction Programmes that merge management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) aim to improve HIV/TB co-infected patients’ access to comprehensive treatment. However, several reports from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)...
Psychosocial interventions to promote undetectable HIV viral loads: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials
Suppressing HIV viral loads to undetectable levels is essential for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We evaluated randomized controlled trials aimed to increase antiretroviral medication adherence and promote undetectable viral loads...
Multi-level interventions to promote oral pre-exposure prophylaxis use among adolescent girls and young women: A review of recent research
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes interventions to promote HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in HIV endemic settings, while also highlighting gaps in...
Barriers and opportunities for the mental health of LGBT older adults and older people living with HIV: A systematic literature review
OBJECTIVE: LGBT older adults and older people living with HIV (PLWH) experience a disproportionate burden of behavioral health conditions compared to their heterosexual, cisgender, and HIV-negative peers. This study intends...
Is tenofovir disoproxil fumarate associated with weight loss?
Background: Recent clinical trials have shown weight gain associated with newer antiretrovirals. It is unclear how the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor backbone affects weight. Recent evidence suggests greater weight gain with...
HIV test coverage among pregnant women in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction: A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test during pregnancy is the gateway to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Estimating the national uptake of HIV tests among pregnant...
The cost-effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are an essential component of universal health coverage (UHC). In determining which SRHR interventions to include in their UHC benefits package, countries are...
“Slam Sex”—Sexualized Injecting Drug Use (“SIDU”) Amongst Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)—A Scoping Review
Sexualized injecting drug use (“SIDU”) is a phenomenon associated with a wide array of high-risk injecting and sex-related practices. This scoping review establishes what is known about MSM and SIDU...
Under-nutrition and associated factors among children infected with human immunodeficiency virus in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background In the developing world, such as the sub-Saharan African region, HIV/AIDS has worsened the impact of under-nutrition in children. HIV infected children are highly vulnerable to under-nutrition. Therefore, the...
