Category Archives: Health Systems
Cost-effectiveness of routine viral load monitoring in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Routine viral load monitoring for HIV-1 management of persons on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify treatment failure. However, viral load...
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...
A historical review of HIV prevention and care initiatives in British Columbia, Canada: 1996-2015
INTRODUCTION: British Columbia has made significant progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV since 1996, when Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) became available. However, we currently lack a historical...
To err is human, to correct is public health: A systematic review examining poor quality testing and misdiagnosis of HIV status
INTRODUCTION: In accordance with global testing and treatment targets, many countries are seeking ways to reach the “90-90-90” goals, starting with diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. Quality HIV...
Shifting tasks from pharmacy to non-pharmacy personnel for providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: Lay people or non-pharmacy health workers with training could dispense antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-constrained countries, freeing up time for pharmacists to focus on more technical tasks. We assessed...
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...
