Category Archives: Health Systems
Integrating antiretroviral therapy into antenatal care and maternal and child health settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether integrating antiretroviral therapy (ART) into antenatal care (ANC) and maternal and child health (MCH) clinics could improve programmatic and patient outcomes. METHODS: The authors systematically searched...
HIV prevention for South African youth: which interventions work? A systematic review of current evidence
BACKGROUND: In South Africa, HIV prevalence among youth aged 15-24 is among the world’s highest. Given the urgent need to identify effective HIV prevention approaches, this review assesses the evidence...
A systematic review of the role of school-based healthcare in adolescent sexual, reproductive, and mental health
BACKGROUND: Accessible sexual, reproductive, and mental healthcare services are crucial for adolescent health and wellbeing. It has been reported that school-based healthcare (SBHC) has the potential to improve the availability...
HIV vaccine preparedness studies in the non-organization for economic co-operation and development (non-OECD) countries
HIV vaccine development remains an urgent priority. Vaccine preparedness studies to assess feasibility are an important precursor to HIV vaccine trials. Studies such as these have taken place in many...
The impact of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes on maternal health care in resource-poor settings: Looking beyond the PMTCT programme – a systematic review
BACKGROUND: There is increasing debate about the impact of scaled-up HIV/AIDS programmes on fragile healthcare systems in low-income countries. OBJECTIVES: To contribute to the understanding of the relation between HIV/AIDS...
Geographical representativeness of published and ongoing randomized controlled trials. The example of: Tobacco consumption and HIV infection
Background: The challenge for evidence-based healthcare is to reduce mortality and the burden of diseases. This study aimed to compare where research is conducted to where research is needed for...
Motivational interviewing as a behavioral intervention to increase HAART adherence in patients who are HIV-positive: A systematic review of the literature
As HIV infection rates continue to rise, more and more people are faced with a complex, life-altering highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen. With some researchers reporting as few as...
Cost-effectiveness of adherence interventions for highly active antiretroviral therapy: A systematic review
Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions aiming to increase the adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected patients in developed...