Category Archives: Health Systems
A community empowerment approach to the HIV response among sex workers: Effectiveness, challenges, and considerations for implementation and scale-up
A community empowerment-based response to HIV is a process by which sex workers take collective ownership of programmes to achieve the most effective HIV outcomes and address social and structural...
Systematic review of facility-based sexual and reproductive health services for female sex workers in Africa
BACKGROUND: Several biological, behavioural, and structural risk factors place female sex workers (FSWs) at heightened risk of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other adverse sexual and reproductive health (SRH)...
The role of nurses in HIV screening in health care facilities: A systematic review
OBJECTIVE: To examine nurse-driven HIV screening in various health care settings in terms of its impact on test offering, acceptance and delivery rates, nursing responsibilities, staff perceptions and long-term implementation....
Taking culture seriously in biomedical HIV prevention trials: A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
A substantial gap exists between widespread acknowledgement of the importance of incorporating cultural sensitivity in biomedical HIV prevention trials and empirical evidence to guide the operationalization of cultural sensitivity in...
A systematic review of the inclusion (or exclusion) of women in HIV research: From clinical studies of antiretrovirals and vaccines to cure strategies
INTRODUCTION: The effect of clinical interventions can differ due to sex/gender. Studies have shown that women are often underrepresented in medical research. The aim of this systematic literature review was...
Optimal strategies for monitoring response to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults, adolescents, children and pregnant women: A systematic review
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to examine different monitoring strategies (clinical, immunologic (CD4 T cell count measurement) and virologic (viral load measurement)) to inform revision of the 2013...
Service delivery interventions to improve adolescents’ linkage, retention and adherence to antiretroviral therapy and HIV care
OBJECTIVES: Adolescents living with HIV face substantial difficulties in accessing HIV care services and have worse treatment outcomes than other age groups. The objective of this review was to evaluate...
Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) has expanded since 2007 WHO guidelines were established. We conducted a systematic review of PITC in low- and middle-income countries. Peer-reviewed studies were included...
Advancing the sexual and reproductive health and human rights of women living with HIV: A review of UN, regional and national human rights norms and standards
INTRODUCTION: The right to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is an essential part of the right to health and is dependent upon substantive equality, including freedom from multiple and intersecting...
Impact of geographic and transportation-related barriers on HIV outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Difficulty obtaining reliable transportation to clinic is frequently cited as a barrier to HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Numerous studies have sought to characterize the impact of geographic and...
Comparative safety and neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with efavirenz use in first-line antiretroviral therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials
INTRODUCTION: Efavirenz (EFV) is widely used for the treatment of antiretroviral-naive HIV-positive individuals, but there are concerns about the risk of adverse neuropsychiatric events. We systematically reviewed the safety of...
