Category Archives: Health Systems
Do digital innovations for HIV and sexually transmitted infections work? Results from a systematic review (1996–2017)
OBJECTIVE: Digital innovations with internet/mobile phones offer a potential cost-saving solution for overburdened health systems with high service delivery costs to improve efficiency of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) control initiatives....
A systematic review of emergency department based HIV testing and linkage to care initiatives in low resource settings
INTRODUCTION: Only 45% of people currently living with HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa are aware of their HIV status. Unmet testing needs may be addressed by utilizing the Emergency Department...
Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of lifelong antiretroviral therapy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Implications for resource-limited countries in sub-Saharan Africa
INTRODUCTION: The 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) consolidated guideline recommends lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Ambiguity remains about...
The peer and non-peer: The potential of risk management for HIV prevention in contexts of prostitution
Sex workers have been the protagonists and focus of HIV prevention campaigns and research since the late 1980s in Brazil. Through a review of national and international literature, combined with...
A historical review of HIV prevention and care initiatives in British Columbia, Canada: 1996-2015
INTRODUCTION: British Columbia has made significant progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV since 1996, when Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) became available. However, we currently lack a historical...
To err is human, to correct is public health: A systematic review examining poor quality testing and misdiagnosis of HIV status
INTRODUCTION: In accordance with global testing and treatment targets, many countries are seeking ways to reach the “90-90-90” goals, starting with diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. Quality HIV...
Shifting tasks from pharmacy to non-pharmacy personnel for providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: Lay people or non-pharmacy health workers with training could dispense antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-constrained countries, freeing up time for pharmacists to focus on more technical tasks. We assessed...
An exploration of group-based HIV/AIDS treatment and care models in Sub-Saharan Africa using a realist evaluation (Intervention-Context-Actor-Mechanism-Outcome) heuristic tool: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: It is increasingly acknowledged that differentiated care models hold potential to manage large volumes of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Various group-based models of ART service delivery aimed at...
Specification of implementation interventions to address the cascade of HIV care and treatment in resource-limited settings: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: The global response to HIV has started over 18 million persons on life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART)-the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)-yet substantial gaps remain: up to...
Ranking 93 health interventions for low- and middle-income countries by cost-effectiveness
BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness rankings of health interventions are useful inputs for national healthcare planning and budgeting. Previous comprehensive rankings for low- and middle- income countries were undertaken in 2005 and 2006,...
Linkage-to-care methods and rates in U.S. emergency department-based HIV testing programs: A systematic literature review brief report
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of U.S. emergency departments (EDs) have implemented ED-based HIV testing programs since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued revised HIV testing recommendations for clinical...
