Publications by authors named "Christopher J Hoffmann"
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. The burden is highest in some low- and middle-income countries. One-quarter of the world's population is estimated to have been infected with TB, which is the seedbed for progressing from TB infection to the deadly and contagious disease itself.
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- The study focused on improving chronic hepatitis B (CHB) testing in primary and community care settings to aid in elimination efforts, aiming to assess various implementation strategies from existing literature.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, analyzing 25 studies with over 130,000 participants, but found that no studies were conducted in low-and-middle-income countries.
- Key findings showed that community strategies, like education from lay health workers, and primary care strategies, such as electronic alerts and healthcare provider education, were effective, with a significant relationship observed between the number of strategy components and effectiveness.
Background: People in correctional settings are a key population for HIV epidemic control. We sought to demonstrate scale-up of universal test and treat in correctional facilities in South Africa and Zambia through a virtual cross-sectional analysis.
Methods: We used routine data on 2 dates: At the start of universal test and treat implementation (time 1, T1) and 1 year later (time 2, T2).
Background: People released from correctional facilities face multifactorial barriers to continuing HIV treatment. We hypothesised that barriers faced in the first 6 months of community re-entry would be decreased by a multilevel group-based and peer-led intervention, the Transitional Community Adherence Club (TCAC).
Methods: We did a pragmatic, open-label, individually randomised controlled trial in five correctional facilities in Gauteng, South Africa.
Article Synopsis
- * A pilot trial was conducted with 111 participants, comparing those who received home visits to those who only had usual care, finding a 59% reduction in mortality, though not statistically significant.
- * The research showed that home visits are feasible and potentially effective, but challenges related to COVID-19 impacted the number of participants enrolled in the study.
Background: Elevated HIV-associated mortality persists, despite a notable decline with the expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In South Africa, the relative majority of deaths occur in health facilities, providing an opportunity to track decedent characteristics.
Setting: We analyzed data from 14,870 adult patients who died between 2008 and 2018 at Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex in South Africa.
Objectives: Targeted universal tuberculosis (TB) testing can improve TB detection among people with HIV. This approach is being scaled up in South Africa through Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra testing for individuals starting antiretroviral therapy and annually thereafter. Clarity is needed on how Universal Xpert testing may affect TB preventive treatment (TPT) provision, and on whether TPT should be delayed until TB is ruled out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is overrepresented among people with criminal justice involvement; HIV is a common comorbidity in this population. This study aimed to examine how formerly incarcerated men living with HIV and OUD in South Africa experienced HIV and OUD services in correctional facilities and the community.
Methods: Three focus group discussions were conducted with 16 formerly incarcerated men living with HIV and OUD in Gauteng, South Africa.