Category Archives: Testing
Barriers to implementation of rapid and point-of-care tests for human immunodeficiency virus infection: Findings from a systematic review (1996–2014)
Implementation of human immunodeficiency virus rapid and point-of-care tests (RDT/POCT) is understood to be impeded by many different factors that operate at 4 main levels-test devices, patients, providers, and health...
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...
A systematic review of HIV/AIDS survival and delayed diagnosis among Hispanics in the United States
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects Hispanics. Our objective was to determine the risk of late diagnosis and rate of survival after HIV/AIDS diagnosis among Hispanics compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We performed...
Costs and efficiency of integrating HIV/AIDS services with other health services: A systematic review of evidence and experience
OBJECTIVES: To review the literature on the potential efficiency gains of integrating HIV services with other health services. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. Search of electronic databases, manual searching and snowball...
HIV infection and the fronto-striatal system: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies
Functional MRI studies investigating the impact HIV on the brain have implicated the involvement of fronto-striatal circuitry. However, to date there is no review and meta-analysis of this work. We...
A systematic review of qualitative findings on factors enabling and deterring uptake of HIV testing in Sub-Saharan Africa
BACKGROUND: Despite Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) being the epicenter of the HIV epidemic, uptake of HIV testing is not optimal. While qualitative studies have been undertaken to investigate factors influencing uptake...
The nursing implications of routine provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling in sub-Saharan Africa: A critical review of new policy guidance from WHO/UNAIDS
BACKGROUND: In 2007 WHO/UNAIDS issued new HIV testing guidelines recommending ‘provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling’ (PITC). In contrast to existing ‘voluntary counselling and testing’ guidelines (whereby individuals self refer for...
Interferon-y release assays for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and tuberculosis infection in HIV-infected adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Despite the widespread use of interferon- release assays (IGRAs), their role in diagnosing tuberculosis and targeting preventive therapy in HIV-infected patients remains unclear. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review to...
Family-centred approaches to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programmes have traditionally been narrow in scope, targeting biomedical interventions during the perinatal period, rather than considering HIV as a family disease. This...
