Category Archives: Health Systems
Retention of HIV-infected children in the first 12 months of anti-retroviral therapy and predictors of attrition in resource limited settings: A systematic review
Current UNAIDS goals aimed to end the AIDS epidemic set out to ensure that 90% of all people living with HIV know their status, 90% initiate and continue life-long anti-retroviral...
Reclaiming fertility awareness methods to inform timed intercourse for HIV serodiscordant couples attempting to conceive
INTRODUCTION: Increased life expectancy of HIV-positive individuals during recent years has drawn attention to their quality of life, which includes fulfillment of fertility desires. In particular, heterosexual HIV serodiscordant couples...
POC CD4 testing improves linkage to HIV care and timeliness of ART initiation in a public health approach: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: CD4 cell count is an important test in HIV programs for baseline risk assessment, monitoring of ART where viral load is not available, and, in many settings, antiretroviral therapy...
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and implications for the provision of voluntary medical male circumcision: Results of a systematic literature review
BACKGROUND: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a critical HIV prevention tool. Since 2007, sub-Saharan African countries with the highest prevalence of HIV have been mobilizing resources to make VMMC...
Barriers and enablers to integrating maternal and child health services to antenatal care in low and middle income countries
Antenatal care (ANC) represents a delivery platform for a broad range of health services; however, these opportunities are insufficiently utilised. This review explores key barriers and enablers for successful integration...
Interventions targeting sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes of young people living with HIV: A comprehensive review of current interventions from sub-Saharan Africa
BACKGROUND: A growing number of young people (ages 10-24) are living with HIV (YPLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These YPLWH have particular needs and challenges related to their sexual and...
Access to hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs in low and middle income settings: Evidence from 5 countries in Eastern Europe and Asia
BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by the hepatitis C (HCV) epidemic. Of the estimated 16 million PWID worldwide, approximately 8 million live with chronic HCV, and...
Efficacy and safety of contemporary dual-drug antiretroviral regimens as first-line treatment or as a simplification strategy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Some guidelines recommended two-drug antiretroviral therapies as alternative regimens to triple therapy in selected patients with the aim of reducing drug burden and toxicity and preserving future treatment options....
A systematic review on confidentiality, disclosure, and stigma in the United States: Lessons for HIV care in pregnancy from reproductive genetics
The fields of HIV care in pregnancy and reproductive genetics have always been ‘exceptional’ in that patients are highly concerned about the potential for stigma and the corresponding need for...
Policing practices as a structural determinant for HIV among sex workers: A systematic review of empirical findings
INTRODUCTION: Sex workers are disproportionately infected with HIV worldwide. Significant focus has been placed on understanding the structural determinants of HIV and designing related interventions. Although there is growing international...
