Category Archives: Testing
What leads some people to think they are HIV-positive before knowing their diagnosis? A systematic review of psychological and behavioural correlates of HIV-risk perception
Current HIV-risk perception refers to the extent to which individuals think they might be HIV-positive. This belief, distinct from the perceived risk about being infected with HIV in the future,...
Implementation effectiveness of revised (post-2010) World Health Organization guidelines on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV using routinely collected data in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review
BACKGROUND: To synthesize and evaluate the impact of implementing post-2010 World Health Organization (WHO) prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) guidelines on attainment of PMTCT targets. METHODS: Retrospective and prospective cohort...
Scaling a waterfall: A meta-ethnography of adolescent progression through the stages of HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa
INTRODUCTION: Observational studies have shown considerable attrition among adolescents living with HIV across the “cascade” of HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa, leading to higher mortality rates compared to HIV-infected adults...
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...
mHealth application areas and technology combinations*. A comparison of literature from high and low/middle income countries
BACKGROUND: With the continuous and enormous spread of mobile technologies, mHealth has evolved as a new subfield of eHealth. While eHealth is broadly focused on information and communication technologies, mHealth...
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...
Opportunities and gaps in primary care preventative health services for transgender patients: A systemic review
Purpose: Transgender people face barriers to accessing healthcare, resulting in population-level disparities in health outcomes. Little research is available to better understand the receipt of primary healthcare among transgender patients...
Impact of SMS/GPRS printers in reducing time to early infant diagnosis compared to routine result reporting: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Despite significant gains made towards improving access, early infant diagnosis (EID) testing programs suffer from long test turnaround times that result in substantial loss to follow-up and mortality associated...
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...
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...
HIV screening in pregnant women: A systematic review of cost-effectiveness studies
INTRODUCTION: Vertical transmission represents the major route of HIV infection for children. However, the preventive interventions available are extremely effective. This review summarizes evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of mother-to-child-transmission preventive...