Category Archives: Health Systems
Patient acceptability and feasibility of HIV testing in emergency departments in the UK — A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: NICE 2016 HIV testing guidelines now include the recommendation to offer HIV testing in Emergency Departments, in areas of high prevalence,(1) to everyone who is undergoing blood tests. 23%...
Hospital-based routine HIV testing in high-income countries: A systematic literature review
OBJECTIVES: To produce a summary of the published evidence of the barriers and facilitators for hospital-based routine HIV testing in high-income countries. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for studies, which...
Interventions and approaches to integrating HIV and mental health services: A systematic review
Background: The frequency in which HIV and AIDS and mental health problems co-exist, and the complex bi-directional relationship between them, highlights the need for effective care models combining services for...
Do digital innovations for HIV and sexually transmitted infections work? Results from a systematic review (1996–2017)
OBJECTIVE: Digital innovations with internet/mobile phones offer a potential cost-saving solution for overburdened health systems with high service delivery costs to improve efficiency of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) control initiatives....
A systematic review of emergency department based HIV testing and linkage to care initiatives in low resource settings
INTRODUCTION: Only 45% of people currently living with HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa are aware of their HIV status. Unmet testing needs may be addressed by utilizing the Emergency Department...
An exploration of group-based HIV/AIDS treatment and care models in Sub-Saharan Africa using a realist evaluation (Intervention-Context-Actor-Mechanism-Outcome) heuristic tool: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: It is increasingly acknowledged that differentiated care models hold potential to manage large volumes of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Various group-based models of ART service delivery aimed at...
Specification of implementation interventions to address the cascade of HIV care and treatment in resource-limited settings: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: The global response to HIV has started over 18 million persons on life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART)-the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)-yet substantial gaps remain: up to...
Linkage-to-care methods and rates in U.S. emergency department-based HIV testing programs: A systematic literature review brief report
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of U.S. emergency departments (EDs) have implemented ED-based HIV testing programs since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued revised HIV testing recommendations for clinical...
The peer and non-peer: The potential of risk management for HIV prevention in contexts of prostitution
Sex workers have been the protagonists and focus of HIV prevention campaigns and research since the late 1980s in Brazil. Through a review of national and international literature, combined with...
Ranking 93 health interventions for low- and middle-income countries by cost-effectiveness
BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness rankings of health interventions are useful inputs for national healthcare planning and budgeting. Previous comprehensive rankings for low- and middle- income countries were undertaken in 2005 and 2006,...
Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of lifelong antiretroviral therapy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Implications for resource-limited countries in sub-Saharan Africa
INTRODUCTION: The 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) consolidated guideline recommends lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Ambiguity remains about...