@article{Mude_W-2023_144941,
title = {HIV Testing Disruptions and Service Adaptations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review},
author = {Mude, W. and Mwenyango, H. and Preston, R. and O’Mullan, C. and Vaughan, G. and Jones, G.},
month = {aug},
year = {2023},
abstract = {Access to treatment and care in safe clinical settings improves people’s lives with HIV. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted vital HIV programs and services, increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes for people with HIV and HIV transmission rates in the community. This systematic literature review provides a meta-analysis of HIV testing disruptions and a synthesis of HIV/AIDS services adapted during COVID-19. We searched scholarly databases from 01 January 2020 to 30 June 2022 using key terms on HIV testing rates and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The process of how the included articles were identified, selected, appraised, and synthesised was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We included 17 articles that reported changes in HIV testing during the COVID-19 pandemic and 22 that reported adaptations in HIV/AIDS services. We found that HIV testing decreased by 37% during the search period because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Service providers adopted novel strategies to support remote service delivery by expanding community antiretroviral therapy dispensing, setting up primary care outreach points, and instituting multi-month dispensing services to sustain client care. Therefore, service providers and policymakers should explore alternative strategies to increase HIV testing rates impacted by COVID-19 and leverage funding to continue providing the identified adapted services.},
journal = {AIDS and Behavior},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04139-4},
}
