Category Archives: Health Systems
The global pendulum swing towards community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of trends, geographical distribution and programmatic orientations, 2005 to 2014
BACKGROUND: There has been a substantial increase in publications and interest in community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) over the last years. This paper examines the...
Barriers and facilitators of interventions for improving antiretroviral therapy adherence: A systematic review of global qualitative evidence
INTRODUCTION: Qualitative research on antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence interventions can provide a deeper understanding of intervention facilitators and barriers. This systematic review aims to synthesize qualitative evidence of interventions for...
Effectiveness of pharmacy-based needle/syringe exchange programme for people who inject drugs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
AIMS: To appraise the evidence critically for effectiveness of pharmacy-based needle/syringe exchange programmes (pharmacy-based NSPs) on risk behaviours (RBs), HIV/HCV prevalence and economic outcomes among people who inject drugs (PWID)....
Organization of care for persons with HIV-infection: A systematic review
The objective of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of the organization of care: case management, multidisciplinary care, multi-faceted treatment, hours of service, outreach programs and health information...
Healthcare programmes for truck drivers in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Truck drivers have unique health needs, and by virtue of their continuous travel, experience difficulty in accessing healthcare. Currently, planning for effective care is hindered by lack of knowledge...
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...
Information and communication technologies for adherence to antiretroviral treatment in adults with HIV/AIDS
INTRODUCTION: Information and communication technologies support interventions directed at the prevention of HIV transmission and patient monitoring by promoting improved accessibility and quality of care. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy...
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...
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...
