Category Archives: Testing
Evaluation of blood-based antibody rapid testing for HIV early therapy: A meta-analysis of the evidence
Background: Western blot (WB) assay is considered the gold standard test for HIV infection confirmation. However, it requires technical expertise and is quite time-consuming. WHO recommends blood-based rapid diagnosis to...
Economic strengthening for HIV testing and linkage to care: A review of the evidence
Delayed HIV diagnosis and enrollment in HIV care can lead to negative health outcomes for individuals and pose major barriers to achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 treatment targets. Household economic strengthening...
Is UNAIDS 90-90-90 target a dream or a reality for Middle East and North Africa region on ending the AIDS epidemic? A review study
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is lagging far behind the global average to reach 90-90-90 targets. This study uses the UNAIDS 90-90-90 program to evaluate the HIV current...
A scoping review of the role of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in noncommunicable disease care
BACKGROUND: People living with HIV are increasingly burdened by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) as a result of the NCD susceptibility that accompanies increased life expectancy and the rising global prevalence of...
Social capital and HIV/AIDS in the United States: Knowledge, gaps, and future directions
Purpose: Social capital is a well-established predictor of several behavioral health outcomes. However, we know less about the relationship with prevention, transmission, and treatment of HIV/AIDS outcomes in the United...
Injection drug use, HIV/HCV, and related services in nonurban areas of the United States: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Injection drug use (IDU) in nonurban areas of the United States is a growing public health concern, but there has been no comprehensive assessment of existing research on injection-related...
Interventions to increase testing, linkage to care and treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among people in prisons: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: While the burden of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is significantly higher among people in prisons compared to the general population, testing and treatment uptake remain suboptimal. The...
Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains of global significance and there is a need to target sub-Saharan Africa since it is the hardest hit region worldwide. Religion and more specifically faith-based...
State-level spending on health care and social services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the USA: A systematic review
Every year for the past decade, approximately 50,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in the USA, and the incidence of HIV/AIDS varies considerably from state to state....
Reliability of HIV rapid diagnostic tests for self-testing compared with testing by health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The ability of individuals to use HIV self-tests correctly is debated. To inform the 2016 WHO recommendation on HIV self-testing, we assessed the reliability and performance of HIV rapid...