SynthesisSexually transmitted infections2016
The effect of HIV counselling and testing on HIV acquisition in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Sexually transmitted infections, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Strategies to increase couples HIV testing and counselling in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Pooled it
- A peer group intervention implemented by community volunteers increased HIV prevention knowledge.BMC public health · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Community intervention improves knowledge of HIV status of adolescents in Zambia: findings from HPTN 071-PopART for youth study.AIDS (London, England) · 2017Trial
- Epidemiological characteristics of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Pointe-Noire, Republic of congo.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Modelling the impact of combining HIV prevention interventions on HIV dynamics in fishing communities in Uganda.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Individual and Relationship-Level Correlates of Transactional Sex Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Malawi: A Multilevel Analysis.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
- Factors associated with risky sexual behaviour among clients undertaking HIV testing and counselling services at a secondary referral hospital Lagos, Nigeria.African health sciences · 2022Article
- A cluster randomized trial to reduce HIV risk from outside partnerships in Zambian HIV-Negative couples using a novel behavioral intervention, "Strengthening Our Vows": Study protocol and baseline data.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2021Article
- Who Has Yet to Test? A Risk Score for Predicting Never Having Tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Among Women and Men in Rural Malawi.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2019Article
- Taking Malawi's option B+ programme from a B+ to an A.The lancet. HIV · 2018Article
- Individual, Partner, and Couple Predictors of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women in Malawi: A Case-Control Study.AIDS and behavior · 2018Article
- Article
- Higher risk sexual behaviour is associated with unawareness of HIV-positivity and lack of viral suppression - implications for Treatment as Prevention.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- The Impact of Couple HIV Testing and Counseling on Consistent Condom Use Among Pregnant Women and Their Male Partners: An Observational Study.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAnnually, millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) receive HIV counselling and testing (HCT), a service designed to inform persons of their HIV status and, if HIV uninfected, reduce HIV acquisition risk. However, the impact of HCT on HIV acquisition has not been systematically evaluated. We conducted a systematic review to assess this relationship in SSA.
methodsWe searched for articles from SSA meeting the following criteria: an HIV-uninfected population, HCT as an exposure, longitudinal design and an HIV acquisition endpoint. Three sets of comparisons were assessed and divided into strata: sites receiving HCT versus sites not receiving HCT (Strata A), persons receiving HCT versus persons not receiving HCT (Strata B) and persons receiving couple HCT (cHCT) versus persons receiving individual HCT (Strata C).
resultsWe reviewed 1635 abstracts; eight met all inclusion criteria. Strata A consisted of one cluster randomised trial with a non-significant trend towards HCT being harmful: incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.4. Strata B consisted of five observational studies with non-significant unadjusted IRRs from 0.6 to 1.3. Strata C consisted of two studies. Both displayed trends towards cHCT being more protective than individual HCT (IRRs: 0.3-0.5). All studies had at least one design limitation.
conclusionsIn spite of intensive scale-up of HCT in SSA, few well-designed studies have assessed the prevention impacts of HCT. The limited body of evidence suggests that individual HCT does not have a consistent impact on HIV acquisition, and cHCT is more protective than individual HCT.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.