Infectious Diseases
- Crossing the Last Mile of TB Care in Rural Southern Madagascar: A Multistakeholder Initiative
Decentralizing TB care services by offering motorbike-based mobile clinics increased patient accessibility to TB care services in a remote district in Madagascar.
- Developing and Testing a Chatbot to Integrate HIV Education Into Family Planning Clinic Waiting Areas in Lusaka, Zambia
In response to the need to integrate HIV prevention content with FP counseling, a chatbot was developed and tested for use among FP clients in clinic waiting areas to leverage the time while they wait to see providers and guide them through a digital conversation on preventing both pregnancy and HIV.
- Willingness to Pay for HIV Prevention Commodities Among Key Population Groups in Nigeria
Exploring the willingness of certain population segments to pay for HIV commodities is the first step in developing strategies to maximize the use of free or subsidized products, increase access to products for key segments of the population, and ensure efficiency and sustainability of HIV prevention programming.
- Addressing COVID-19 Rumors and Behaviors Using Theory in Guyana: A Program Case Study
We used a COVID-19 rumor classification tool to rapidly identify, synthesize, and counter misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide appropriate social and behavior change messaging that would affect relevant preventive and protective behaviors.
- Adapting High Impact Practices in Family Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences From Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe
Documenting how family planning programs adapt to ensure continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important contribution toward implementing approaches that are effective and resilient in the face of present and future challenges.
- Women’s Experiences With Family Planning Under COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional, Interactive Voice Response Survey in Malawi, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda
Surveyed women attributed unintended pregnancies to COVID-19 and reported constraints to contraceptive access and use in Malawi, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda.
- Screening for Severe Illness at Diagnosis Has the Potential to Prevent Early TB Deaths: Programmatic Experience From Karnataka, India
Despite TB being a potentially fatal disease, severity is not systematically assessed at the start of drug-susceptible TB treatment. We document our experience screening people for severe illness at diagnosis/notification in program settings and the potential impact on reducing early TB deaths.
- Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of mCME Version 2.0: An SMS-Based Continuing Medical Education Program for HIV Clinicians in Vietnam
This cost analysis found that a mobile phone-based continuing medical education (mCME) intervention, involving daily text messages with links to relevant materials, for HIV clinicians in northern Vietnam was relatively low-cost and cost-effective, particularly for future nationwide models. Such mobile approaches to CME are worthy of attention in resource-constrained settings.
- Infant Circumcision for Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Reduction Globally
Population-based studies in high-income countries have failed to find that male circumcision protects against sexually transmitted infections. Using evidence from several sources, we show that male circumcision does protect against HIV during insertive intercourse for men who have sex with men.
- Examining Roles, Support, and Experiences of Community Health Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: A Mixed Methods Study
Government-employed community health workers in Bangladesh are essential actors in the COVID-19 response in communities. Ensuring the workers’ equitable access to supportive mechanisms for their work, including training, infection prevention supplies, and supportive supervision, is critical for successfully preventing and managing COVID-19 in Bangladesh.