Category Archives: Health Systems
Diagnostic accuracy of the WHO clinical staging system for defining eligibility for ART in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that HIV-positive adults with CD4 count ≤500 cells/mm(3) initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART). In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, CD4 count is not widely available...
HIV/AIDS health care challenges for cross-country migrants in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review
INTRODUCTION: HIV/AIDS has been one of the world’s most important health challenges in recent history. The global solidarity in responding to HIV/AIDS through the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and...
Factors associated with patient and health care system delay in diagnosis and treatment for TB in sub-Saharan African countries with high burdens of TB and HIV
OBJECTIVE: To identify factors causing delayed diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis in high tuberculosis (TB)/HIV burden African countries. METHODS: We searched Ovid Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Scopus and Sabinet-South African journals...
High mortality amongst adolescents and adults with bacterial meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of 715 cases from Malawi
Mortality from bacterial meningitis in African adults is significantly higher than those in better resourced settings and adjunctive therapeutic interventions such as dexamethasone and glycerol have been shown to be...
HIV prevention, treatment, and care services for people who inject drugs: A systematic review of global, regional, and national coverage
Background: Previous reviews have examined the existence of HIV prevention, treatment, and care services for injecting drug users (IDUs) worldwide, but they did not quantify the scale of coverage. We...
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...
Health sector demand-side financial incentives in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review on demand- and supply-side effects
Demand-side financial incentive (DSF) is an emerging strategy to improve health seeking behavior and health status in many low- and middle-income countries. This narrative synthesis assessed the demand- and supply-side...
Diagnostic tests in HIV management: A review of clinical and laboratory strategies to monitor HIV-infected individuals in developing countries
We conducted a systematic review on the performance of diagnostic tests for clinical and laboratory monitoring of HIV-infected adults in developing countries. Diagnostic test information collected from computerized databases, bibliographies...
Treatment outcomes from community-based drug resistant tuberculosis treatment programs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that community-based treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) is a feasible and cost-effective alternative to centralized, hospital-based care. Although several large programs have reported favourable...
