Category Archives: Health Systems
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...
HIV pre-test information, discussion or counselling? A review of guidance relevant to the WHO European Region
OBJECTIVES: In the context of a shift from exceptionalism to normalisation, this study examines recommendations/evidence in current pan-European/global guidelines regarding pre-test HIV testing and counselling practices in health care settings....
Is there scope for cost savings and efficiency gains in HIV services? A systematic review of the evidence from low- and middle-income countries
OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the data available–on costs, efficiency and economies of scale and scope–for the six basic programmes of the UNAIDS Strategic Investment Framework, to inform those planning the scale-up...
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...
Net benefits of resistance testing directed therapy compared with standard of care in HIV-infected patients with virological failure: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: We incorporated the latest available information to evaluate the net benefit of using resistance testing in HIV-infected patients with virological failure. METHODS: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the...
The cost and cost-effectiveness of gender-responsive interventions for HIV: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Harmful gender norms and inequalities, including gender-based violence, are important structural barriers to effective HIV programming. We assess current evidence on what forms of gender-responsive intervention may enhance the...
The cost and impact of scaling up pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: A systematic review of cost-effectiveness modelling studies
BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness studies inform resource allocation, strategy, and policy development. However, due to their complexity, dependence on assumptions made, and inherent uncertainty, synthesising, and generalising the results can be difficult....
Community health workers and mobile technology: A systematic review of the literature
INTRODUCTION: In low-resource settings, community health workers are frontline providers who shoulder the health service delivery burden. Increasingly, mobile technologies are developed, tested, and deployed with community health workers to...
