SynthesisBMJ open2015
Retention in care prior to antiretroviral treatment eligibility in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Attrition one year after starting antiretroviral therapy before and after the programmatic implementation of HIV "Treat All" in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Predictors of lost to follow up from antiretroviral therapy among adults in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2021Pooled it
- Why do people living with HIV not initiate treatment? A systematic review of qualitative evidence from low- and middle-income countries.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Treatment Ambassador Program: A Highly Acceptable and Feasible Community-Based Peer Intervention for South Africans Living with HIV Who Delay or Discontinue Antiretroviral Therapy.AIDS and behavior · 2021Trial
- A combination intervention strategy to improve linkage to and retention in HIV care following diagnosis in Mozambique: A cluster-randomized study.PLoS medicine · 2017Trial
- Postpartum continuity of care for women with HIV: Option B+ policy impact and limitations in South Africa.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Enhanced language models for predicting and understanding HIV care disengagement: a case study in Tanzania.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Incidence and predictors of loss to follow-up among adult HIV patients attending antiretroviral therapy at public health facilities in Agaro town, Southwest Ethiopia, 2023.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Effect of antiretroviral therapy on retention of people living with HIV in India (2012-2017): a retrospective, cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2025Article
- Article
- The role of social support in antiretroviral therapy uptake and retention among pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Historical visit attendance as predictor of treatment interruption in South African HIV patients: Extension of a validated machine learning model.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Temporal trends in pre-ART patient characteristics and outcomes before the test and treat era in Central Kenya.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Article
- Community-wide HIV testing, linkage case management, and defaulter tracing in Bukoba, Tanzania: pre-intervention and post-intervention, population-based survey evaluation.The lancet. HIV · 2020Article
- Lost to follow up rate in the first year of ART in adults initiated in a universal test and treat programme: a retrospective cohort study in Ekurhuleni District, South Africa.The Pan African medical journal · 2020Article
- Exploring the Patterns of Use and Acceptability of Mobile Phones Among People Living With HIV to Improve Care and Treatment: Cross-Sectional Study in Three Francophone West African Countries.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Article
- Threefold Increases in Population HIV Viral Load Suppression Among Men and Young Adults - Bukoba Municipal Council, Tanzania, 2014-2017.MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report · 2019Article
- Understanding the role of resilience resources, antiretroviral therapy initiation, and HIV-1 RNA suppression among people living with HIV in South Africa: a prospective cohort study.AIDS (London, England) · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe aimed at summarising rates and factors associated with retention in HIV care prior to antiretroviral treatment (ART) eligibility in sub-Saharan Africa.
designWe conducted a systematic literature review (2002-2014). We searched Medline/Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science, as well as proceedings of conferences. We included all original research studies published in peer-reviewed journals, which used quantitative indicators of retention in care prior to ART eligibility.
participantsPeople not yet eligible for ART. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Rate of retention in HIV care prior to ART eligibility and associated factors.
results10 papers and 2 abstracts were included. Most studies were conducted in Southern and Eastern Africa between 2004 and 2011 and reported retention rates in pre-ART care up to the second CD4 measurement. Definition of retention in HIV care prior to ART eligibility differed substantially across studies. Retention rates ranged between 23% and 88% based on series ranging from 112 to 10,314 individuals; retention was higher in women, individuals aged >25 years, those with low CD4 count, high body mass index or co-infected with tuberculosis, and in settings with free cotrimoxazole use.
conclusionsRetention in HIV care prior to ART eligibility in sub-Saharan Africa has been insufficiently described so far leaving major research gaps, especially regarding long-term retention rates and sociodemographic, economic, clinical and programmatic logistic determinants. The prospective follow-up of newly diagnosed individuals is required to better evaluate attrition prior to ART eligibility among HIV-infected people.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.