Category Archives: Health Systems
Use of antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes among women living with HIV-1 in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Worldwide, nearly 18 million women of reproductive age are living with HIV-1. Although increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy has significantly reduced HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), a...
Integrated models of care for individuals with opioid use disorder: How do we prevent HIV and HCV?
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe models of integrated and co-located care for opioid use disorder (OUD), hepatitis C (HCV), and HIV. RECENT FINDINGS: The design and scale-up of multidisciplinary care...
Effectiveness of depression interventions for people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review & meta-analysis of psychological & immunological outcomes
This meta-analytic review evaluated the effectiveness of depression interventions on the psychological and immunological outcomes of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. 14 studies, yielding 932 participants were eligible....
Reliability of HIV rapid diagnostic tests for self-testing compared with testing by health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The ability of individuals to use HIV self-tests correctly is debated. To inform the 2016 WHO recommendation on HIV self-testing, we assessed the reliability and performance of HIV rapid...
A comparison of accuracy and computational feasibility of two record linkage algorithms in retrieving vital status information from HIV/AIDS patients registered in Brazilian public databases
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: While cross-referencing information from people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to the official mortality database is a critical step in monitoring the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil, the accuracy...
How should HIV resources be allocated? Lessons learnt from applying Optima HIV in 23 countries
INTRODUCTION: With limited funds available, meeting global health targets requires countries to both mobilize and prioritize their health spending. Within this context, countries have recognized the importance of allocating funds...
Linking private, for-profit providers to public sector services for HIV and tuberculosis co-infected patients: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of death among people with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called...
Physiotherapy for people with mental health problems in Sub-Saharan African countries: A systematic review
Background: There is a need for psychosocial interventions to address the escalating mental health burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Physiotherapists could have a central role in reducing the burden and...
Doing patient-centredness versus achieving public health targets: A critical review of interactional dilemmas in ART adherence support
Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) transformed HIV into a chronic disease but its individual and public health benefits depend on high levels of adherence. The large and rising number of people on...
Participants’ accrual and delivery of HIV prevention interventions among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), HIV disproportionately affects men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) compared with other men of the same age group in the general population. Access to HIV services remains low among...
