Poor communication and a lack of mutual trust have long been cited as contributors to a weak patient-physician relationship and may contribute to the provision of ineffective medical care. In particular, interpersonal barriers resulting from linguistic, racial, ethnic or cultural differences between patients and providers may exacerbate disparities in utilization, care-seeking behavior and health experienced […]
The management of chronic diseases such as HIV requires healthcare providers to link patient records across multiple interactions with the health system. South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) conducts all routine laboratory monitoring for the country’s national public sector HIV program but does not use identifiers to track individual patients as they seek care. […]
Many HIV patients in low- and middle-income countries do not immediately start antiretroviral therapy (ART) in spite of being eligible. As countries implement 2015 World Health Organization guidelines to initiate ART at diagnosis for every patient (“treat all”), millions of people are newly eligible for treatment. However, “treat all” will lead to significant increases in […]
In September 2015, the World Health Organization revised its antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment guidelines for people living with HIV, calling for a “test-and-treat” strategy and extending treatment eligibility to all people diagnosed with HIV regardless of CD4 white blood cell count. This recommendation reversed earlier guidelines that limited treatment to patients with lower CD4 counts […]
Surveys that aim to measure the prevalence of women’s work across societies yield varying results. For example, in Ghana, surveys conducted by different groups estimate that anywhere from 59 percent to 85 percent of urban women are employed, but there is no consensus on the actual number. This variation can arise for many reasons, including […]
Billions of dollars are invested annually in pharmaceutical research and development to identify medications that are as effective as existing drugs but with fewer side effects. Currently, there are over 30 antiretroviral drugs in development to help treat and prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Most of these drugs seek to improve clinical outcomes by […]
Mahesh Karra, a core faculty member of the Human Capital Initiative at the Global Development Policy Center and an Assistant Professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, attended the Population Association of America’s Annual Meeting last week in Denver, Colorado to present his research on measuring women’s labor force […]
The South African national HIV program has achieved substantial antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage over the last decade, reaching 56 percent of all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)– infected people in 2016. As ART scale-up continues, it is anticipated that increased access to treatment and reduced stigma will lead to treatment initiation earlier in HIV infection. Studies […]
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is highly effective in reducing HIV transmission from infected individuals to their non-infected partners. The landmark HPTN052 trial demonstrated a 96 percent reduction in linked HIV transmissions in couples who immediately initiated ART compared with deferred ART initiation. Early initiation of ART results in rapid and sustained viral suppression over time, whereas […]
Social assistance programs targeted at low-income groups cover nearly two billion people in developing countries. Identifying and reaching the intended beneficiaries of these programs can be challenging, especially where a large part of the population works in the informal sector and there are no official income registries. Traditionally, each program has its own method to […]