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HIV/AIDS Testing and Prevention

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases, Chronic Diseases, and Disease Prevention".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 7802

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
Interests: HIV/AIDS; adolescent girls and young women (AGYW); HIV testing; vaginal miccrobicides; systematic reviews and meta-analysis; Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

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Guest Editor
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, South Africa
Interests: biostatistics; infectious disease; epidemiology

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Guest Editor
School of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
Interests: epidemiology & infectious diseases; molecular biology; immunology-immunochemistry; bio-nanotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

HIV/AIDS remain a major public health problem, with over 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally. This is despite the incredible advancements made in antiretroviral treatment (ART) and HIV prevention interventions.

The main cornerstone of HIV elimination remains the prevention of new infections; however, the incidence of HIV is still a concern. UNAIDS introduced the 95-95-95 goals aiming to achieve the control of HIV by 2030, whereby at least 95% of people living with HIV must know their HIV status, 95% of these must be receiving ART, and 95% of those on ART must achieve viral load suppression (VLS). The first 95 is very important, as it is the gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, and care services. Biomedical HIV prevention interventions, including male condoms, medical male circumcision, and PrEP, have contributed immensely to HIV prevention; however, there remains the need for women-controlled approaches, such as vaginal microbicides. Social, economic, and structural interventions, including cash interventions and the economic and educational uplifting of young women, have also been carried out. This Special Issue aims to provide evidence of HIV testing and prevention globally. Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and research articles are all welcome in this issue.

Prof. Dr. Alfred Musekiwa
Dr. Zvifadzo Matsena-Zingoni
Dr. Clarence Suh Yah
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • HIV/AIDS
  • HIV testing
  • HIV prevention
  • microbicides
  • PrEP
  • Sub-Saharan Africa

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 316 KiB  
Article
Exploring Women’s Decision-Making Power and HIV/AIDS Prevention Practices in South Africa
by Russell Kabir, Angi Alradie-Mohamed, Nahida Ferdous, Divya Vinnakota, S. M. Yasir Arafat and Ilias Mahmud
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416626 - 10 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1937
Abstract
Decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health significantly impact women’s health and their protection against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. These decisions also impact females’ ability to reach their reproductive goals. Women’s autonomy is recognized to be vital to women’s access to reproductive [...] Read more.
Decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health significantly impact women’s health and their protection against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. These decisions also impact females’ ability to reach their reproductive goals. Women’s autonomy is recognized to be vital to women’s access to reproductive healthcare, the use of contraceptives, the capacity to avoid or receive treatment for STIs (including HIV), and other reproductive and sexual health issues. This research investigated the association between the decision-making power of South African women (of reproductive age) and their knowledge and practices regarding HIV/AIDS preventive measures. The present study used data from the South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2016. A total of 8514 women aged 15–49 years who participated in the survey were used for this research. The mean age of the women was 30.21 years, with an SD of 9.86. Approximately 38.5% of the women decided on contraceptive use, and only 11.7% of women’s partners and 49.8% of respondents were jointly involved in the decision-making process of contraceptive use. All HIV preventive measures under study were statistically significantly associated with high decision-making power; the use of a condom by the husband or partner of the women was the most significant; husbands or partners of the women with high autonomy were three times more likely to use condoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue HIV/AIDS Testing and Prevention)
13 pages, 1027 KiB  
Article
Trends in HIV Testing and Associated Factors among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Zimbabwe: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data from 2005 to 2015
by Abgail Pachena and Alfred Musekiwa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095165 - 24 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1992
Abstract
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), aged 15–24 years, experience higher HIV incidence compared to their male counterparts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the HIV burden is highest. This study determined trends in self-reported HIV testing and associated factors among AGYW in [...] Read more.
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), aged 15–24 years, experience higher HIV incidence compared to their male counterparts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the HIV burden is highest. This study determined trends in self-reported HIV testing and associated factors among AGYW in Zimbabwe using the Zimbabwe DHS datasets for 2005/6, 2010/11, and 2015. The proportion of adolescents aged 15–19 years who had ever tested for HIV increased from 14.7% in 2005/6 to 26.5% in 2010/11 and 47.9% in 2015. Among young women, aged 20–24 years, the proportion increased from 34.8% in 2005/6 to 68.7% in 2010/11 and 84.8% in 2015. The odds of ever having an HIV test were significantly higher for those with a higher education (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 12.49, 95% CI: 2.69 to 57.92, p = 0.001), comprehensive HIV knowledge (aOR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.31 to 2.78, p = 0.001), knowledge about mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) (aOR 2.09, 95% CI: 1.55 to 2.82, p < 0.001), non-discriminatory attitudes (aOR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.12 to 2.28, p = 0.010), three or more lifetime sexual partners (aOR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.09 to 3.66, p = 0.025), and a history of pregnancy (aOR 6.08, 95% CI: 4.22 to 8.75, p < 0.001). There is need to scale-up programmes targeting AGYW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue HIV/AIDS Testing and Prevention)
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Review

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23 pages, 2712 KiB  
Review
Evaluating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Accessing HIV Services in South Africa: A Systematic Review
by Claudia Goncalves Rebelo Jardim, Reza Zamani and Mohammad Akrami
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 11899; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191911899 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2924
Abstract
Progress has been made towards controlling the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in South Africa. However, the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted access to health care. This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on accessing HIV [...] Read more.
Progress has been made towards controlling the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in South Africa. However, the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted access to health care. This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on accessing HIV services at a primary health care (PHC) level in South Africa. HIV services that have been significantly impacted are highlighted, and recommendations for future public health emergencies are made. Three databases were searched in January 2022. The studies included were those that reported on HIV services at a PHC level in South Africa. From the searches, 203 papers were identified, of which 34 full texts were screened. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Overall, decreases in HIV testing, positive HIV tests, and initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were reported. Resilience of ART provision was reported, meaning that adherence to treatment was sustained throughout the pandemic. The findings showed that HIV services at private PHC facilities were unaffected, however, an overall decrease in HIV services at public PHC facilities was reported, excluding antenatal care which showed resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue HIV/AIDS Testing and Prevention)
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