Assessing whether providing regular, free HIV self-testing kits reduces the time to HIV diagnosis: an internet-based, randomised controlled trial in men who have sex with men.

Background: The risk of onwards HIV transmission is strongly influenced by the interval between HIV infection and its diagnosis. The SELPHI trial examined whether this interval could be reduced by offering free HIV self-testing kits to men-who-have-sex with-men (MSM).

Setting: Internet-based RCT of MSM aged ≥16 years, resident in England/Wales, recruited via sexual and social networking sites.

Culinary Medicine or Culinary Nutrition? Defining Terms for Use in Education and Practice.

Examination of how terms such as culinary nutrition, culinary nutrition science, culinary medicine, culinary nutrition professional, culinary nutrition intervention, culinary nutrition activity, and culinary nutrition competency are used in practice, and the creation of consensus definitions will promote the consistent use of these terms across work areas and disciplines. Thirty leading practitioners, academics, and researchers in the fields of food and nutrition across Australia, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia were approached by investigators via email to submit definitions of key terms using a Qualtrics survey link. Further participants were reached through snowball recruitment.

Has the HCV cascade of care changed among people who inject drugs in England since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals?

Background: In England, over 80 % of those with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have injected drugs. We quantified the HCV cascade of care (CoC) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in England and determined whether this improved after direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) were introduced.

Methods: We analysed data from nine rounds of national annual cross-sectional surveys of PWID recruited from drug services (2011-2019; N = 12,320).

Adverse health outcomes among people who inject drugs who engaged in recent sex work: findings from a national survey.

Objectives: This study explores trends in sex work among people who inject drugs (PWID) by gender and the relationship between sex work and adverse health outcomes including overdose, injection-site, and blood-borne virus (BBV) infections.

Study Design: The Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey of PWID is an annual cross-sectional survey that monitors BBV prevalence and behaviours, including transactional sex, among PWID recruited through specialist services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Methods: Trends in sex work among PWID (2011-2021) were described.

Healthcare interventions for sex workers: protocol for a scoping review.

Introduction: Sex workers, who provide sexual or erotic acts in exchange for payment, often experience multiple disadvantages, including mental ill health and substance misuse. Mainstream healthcare services are generally not configured to facilitate engagement with sex workers and therefore, services are needed that are accessible to this population. The aim of this scoping review is to understand the evidence base for approaches, services and interventions that are aimed at addressing sex workers' health needs.

Prevalence of HIV in mental health service users: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of HIV in a cohort of people who have used secondary mental health services in the UK.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Routinely collected clinical data from secondary mental health services in South London, UK available for research through the Clinical Record Interactive Search tool at the National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre were matched with pseudonymised national HIV surveillance data held by the UK Health Security Agency using a deterministic matching algorithm.

Electronic health records to capture primary outcome measures: two case studies in HIV prevention research.

Background: There is increasing interest in the use of electronic health records (EHRs) to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of clinical trials, including the capture of outcome measures.

Main Text: We describe our experience of using EHRs to capture the primary outcome measure - HIV infection or the diagnosis of HIV infection - in two randomised HIV prevention trials conducted in the UK. PROUD was a clinic-based trial evaluating pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and SELPHI was an internet-based trial evaluating HIV self-testing kits.

Incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs, and associations with age and sex or gender: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Measuring the incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) is key to track progress towards elimination. We aimed to summarise global data on HIV and primary HCV incidence among PWID and associations with age and sex or gender.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we updated an existing database of HIV and HCV incidence studies among PWID by searching MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO, capturing studies published between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 12, 2022, with no language or study design restrictions.

Opioid Injection-Associated Bacterial Infections in England, 2002-2021: A Time Series Analysis of Seasonal Variation and the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background: Bacterial infections cause substantial pain and disability among people who inject drugs. We described time trends in hospital admissions for injecting-related infections in England.

Methods: We analyzed hospital admissions in England between January 2002 and December 2021.

Recommendations for defining preventable HIV-related mortality for public health monitoring in the era of Getting to Zero: an expert consensus.

Getting to Zero is a commonly cited strategic aim to reduce mortality due to both HIV and avoidable deaths among people with HIV. However, no clear definitions are attached to these aims with regard to what constitutes HIV-related or preventable mortality, and their ambition is limited. This Position Paper presents consensus recommendations to define preventable HIV-related mortality for a pragmatic approach to public health monitoring by use of national HIV surveillance data.

Late diagnosis of HIV: An updated consensus definition.

Introduction: In recent years, HIV testing frequency has increased, resulting in more people being diagnosed during seroconversion with a temporarily low CD4 count. Using the current consensus definition of late HIV presentation ('presenting for care with a CD4 count < 350 cells/μL or an AIDS-defining event, regardless of CD4 count') these individuals would be incorrectly assigned as being diagnosed late.

Methods: In spring 2022, a European expert group convened to revise the current late HIV presentation consensus definition.

Re-assessing the late HIV diagnosis surveillance definition in the era of increased and frequent testing.

Objectives: Late HIV diagnosis (CD4 <350 cells/mm ) is a key public health metric. In an era of more frequent testing, the likelihood of HIV diagnosis occurring during seroconversion, when CD4 counts may dip below 350, is greater. We applied a correction, considering markers of recent infection, and re-assessed 1-year mortality following late diagnosis.

Investigating the sociodemographic and behavioural factors associated with hepatitis C virus testing amongst people who inject drugs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: A quantitative cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in the UK is driven by injecting drug use. We explore HCV testing uptake amongst people who inject drugs (PWID) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and identify factors associated with i) ever having an HCV test amongst people who have ever injected drugs, and ii) recently having an HCV test (within the current or previous year) amongst people who currently inject drugs (reported injecting drugs within the last year).

Methods: We analysed data from the 2019 'Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey' of PWID, using logistic regression.

The characteristics of people who inject drugs in the United Kingdom: changes in age, duration, and incidence of injecting, 1980-2019, using evidence from repeated cross-sectional surveys.

Background And Aims: Mortality and drug treatment data suggest that the median age of people who inject drugs is increasing. We aimed to describe changes in the characteristics of people injecting drugs in the United Kingdom (UK).

Design: Repeat cross-sectional surveys and modelling.

An exploratory study of industry perspectives to inform undergraduate nutrition employability initiatives.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nutrition professionals' perspectives of nutrition graduates' employability skills, and knowledge and skills required in the industry to understand gaps in undergraduate nutrition curriculum.

Methods: Nutrition professionals (n = 26) across Australia were approached to participate in semi-structured interviews via telephone in 2018. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, data analysed using thematic analysis, and results interpreted and discussed.

Perceived availability and carriage of take-home naloxone and factors associated with carriage among people who inject drugs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Background: In 2019-2020, record-high numbers of overdoses have been reported across the UK. We estimated perceived availability to and carriage of naloxone and explored factors associated with carriage among people who inject drugs (PWID) engaged with services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Methods: Participants were PWID enrolled in the Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring Survey in 2019 who reported past-year injection drug use (n = 2,139).

HIV seroprevalence in five key populations in Europe: a systematic literature review, 2009 to 2019.

BackgroundIn Europe, HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), prisoners, sex workers, and transgender people. Epidemiological data are primarily available from national HIV case surveillance systems that rarely capture information on sex work, gender identity or imprisonment. Surveillance of HIV prevalence in key populations often occurs as independent studies with no established mechanism for collating such information at the European level.

Trends in undiagnosed HIV prevalence in England and implications for eliminating HIV transmission by 2030: an evidence synthesis model.

Background: A target to eliminate HIV transmission in England by 2030 was set in early 2019. This study aimed to estimate trends from 2013 to 2019 in HIV prevalence, particularly the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV, by exposure group, ethnicity, gender, age group, and region. These estimates are essential to monitor progress towards elimination.

COVID-19 mortality among people with diagnosed HIV compared to those without during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in England.

Objectives: We describe COVID-19 mortality among people with and without HIV during the first wave of the pandemic in England.

Methods: National surveillance data on adults (aged ≥ 15 years) with diagnosed HIV resident in England were linked to national COVID-19 mortality surveillance data (2 March 2020-16 June 2020); HIV clinicians verified linked cases and provided information on the circumstances of death. We present COVID-19 mortality rates by HIV status, using negative binomial regression to assess the association between HIV and mortality, adjusting for gender, age and ethnicity.

The impact of direct-acting antivirals on hepatitis C viraemia among people who inject drugs in England; real-world data 2011-2018.

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for anybody with viraemic HCV infection has been scaled-up in England since 2017. To assess early impacts, we investigated trends in, and factors associated with, HCV viraemia among people who inject drugs (PWID). We also examined trends in self-reported treatment access.