ArticleTropical medicine & international health : TM & IH2023
Strategies to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and early engagement among men in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review of interventions in the era of universal treatment.
Article in Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Factors influencing improved adherence and retention among men living with human immunodeficiency virus in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Predictors of unsuppressed viral load among MSM with HIV in South Africa.AIDS (London, England) · 2025Article
- Stakeholder priorities for ART initiation and early retention strategies in Malawi: a qualitative study comparing international and national perspectives.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Trajectories and predictors of HIV care retention among individuals receiving ART in rural South Africa: a group-based trajectory modelling analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Depression and the revolving door of HIV care: using multistate approaches to understand complex longitudinal exposure/outcome relationships among a cohort of people entering HIV care in Cameroon from 2019 to 2020.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Characteristics and six-month viral load suppression of clients presenting with advanced HIV disease in South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Leadership, cohesion, and stress in primary care facilities and retention in chronic care in rural northeast South Africa before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.Journal of global health · 2024Article
- Core components of male-specific person-centred HIV care: a qualitative analysis from client and healthcare worker perspectives in Malawi.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Stakeholder Priorities for ART Initiation and Early Retention Interventions in Malawi: A Qualitative Study Comparing International and National Perspectives.Research square · 2023Article
- Article
- Strategies to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and early engagement among men in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review of interventions in the era of universal treatment.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2023Article
- Promoting access of hydroxyurea to sickle cell disease individuals: Time to make it an essential medicine.F1000Research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesMen in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have lower rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and higher rates of early default than women. Little is known about effective interventions to improve men's outcomes. We conducted a scoping review of interventions aimed to increase ART initiation and/or early retention among men in SSA since universal treatment policies were implemented.
methodsThree databases, HIV conference databases and grey literature were searched for studies published between January 2016 to May 2021 that reported on initiation and/or early retention among men. Eligibility criteria included: participants in SSA, data collected after universal treatment policies were implemented (2016-2021), quantitative data on ART initiation and/or early retention for males, general male population (not exclusively focused on key populations), intervention study (report outcomes for at least one non-standard service delivery strategy), and written in English.
resultsOf the 4351 sources retrieved, 15 (reporting on 16 interventions) met inclusion criteria. Of the 16 interventions, only two (2/16, 13%) exclusively focused on men. Five (5/16, 31%) were randomised control trials (RCT), one (1/16, 6%) was a retrospective cohort study, and 10 (10/16, 63%) did not have comparison groups. Thirteen (13/16, 81%) interventions measured ART initiation and six (6/16, 37%) measured early retention. Outcome definitions and time frames varied greatly, with seven (7/16, 44%) not specifying time frames at all. Five types of interventions were represented: optimising ART services at health facilities, community-based ART services, outreach support (such as reminders and facility escort), counselling and/or peer support, and conditional incentives. Across all intervention types, ART initiation rates ranged from 27% to 97% and early retention from 47% to 95%.
conclusionsDespite years of data of men's suboptimal ART outcomes, there is little high-quality evidence on interventions to increase men's ART initiation or early retention in SSA. Additional randomised or quasi-experimental studies are urgently needed.
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