Community-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing at religious congregations has been proposed as a potentially effective way to increase screening among disproportionately affected populations, such as those self-identifying as African American and Latino. Although congregations may provide reach into these communities, the extent to which church-based HIV testing alleviates access barriers, identifies new cases, and reaches people at increased risk for HIV is not well documented. We examined the results of an HIV testing program that was conducted as part of a larger intervention aimed at reducing HIV stigma at five churches in Los Angeles County, California, in 2011-2012. HIV screening identified one positive result in 323 tests but reached a substantial proportion of people who had not been tested before, including many who lacked health insurance. Although this approach may not be an efficient way to identify cases of previously unknown HIV infection, it could help achieve universal testing goals.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5230813 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0033354916662641 | DOI Listing |
AIDS Behav
January 2025
Center for Public Health Research, Department of Public Health, San Francisco, USA.
Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections, a disparity that has only worsened in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an overall increasing trend remained.
Methods: We utilized data from the MSM cycle of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) study in San Francisco, California, conducted from June 2021 through December 2021, to identify socio-ecological disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic that were associated with sexually transmitted infections.
Sensors (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SRM University, Guntur 522240, Andhra Pradesh, India.
We propose herein a metamaterial (MM) dual-band THz sensor for various biomedical sensing applications. An MM is a material engineered to have a particular property that is rarely observed in naturally occurring materials with an aperiodic subwavelength arrangement. MM properties across a wide range of frequencies, like high sensitivity and quality factors, remain challenging to obtain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
January 2025
Zambia Field Epidemiology Training Program, Lusaka, Zambia.
Background: Geographical factors can affect infectious disease transmission, including SARS-CoV-2, a virus that is spread through respiratory secretions. Prioritization of surveillance and response activities during a pandemic can be informed by a pathogen's geographical transmission patterns. We assessed the relationship between geographical factors and SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
January 2025
MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Background: Blood and oral fluid-based HIV self-tests are important for reaching the undiagnosed living with HIV. The study objectives were to evaluate the oral fluid-based OraQuick® HIV Self-Test (HIV-ST) performance in comparison to laboratory reference testing; determine if laypersons can correctly perform the HIV-ST; document if intended users can successfully interpret pre-made contrived positive, negative, and invalid results; and document if intended users can understand the key messages in the product labeling.
Methods: This prospective study enrolled consenting adult intended users of HIV self-testing from six community health centres in four Canadian provinces between June 2022 and January 2024.
Background: The lives of adolescents and young people living with HIV (LHIV) are dominated by complex psychological and social stressors. These may be more pronounced among those perinatally infected. This longitudinal mixed-methods study describes the clinical and psychosocial challenges faced by HIV perinatally infected young mothers in Harare, Zimbabwe to inform tailored support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!