HIV Testing Disruptions and Service Adaptations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review

Mude, William; Mwenyango, Hadijah; Preston, Robyn; O’Mullan, Catherine; Vaughan, Geraldine; Jones, Gary

Abstract

Access to treatment and care in safe clinical settings improves people’s lives with HIV. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted vital HIV programs and services, increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes for people with HIV and HIV transmission rates in the community. This systematic literature review provides a meta-analysis of HIV testing disruptions and a synthesis of HIV/AIDS services adapted during COVID-19. We searched scholarly databases from 01 January 2020 to 30 June 2022 using key terms on HIV testing rates and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The process of how the included articles were identified, selected, appraised, and synthesised was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We included 17 articles that reported changes in HIV testing during the COVID-19 pandemic and 22 that reported adaptations in HIV/AIDS services. We found that HIV testing decreased by 37% during the search period because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Service providers adopted novel strategies to support remote service delivery by expanding community antiretroviral therapy dispensing, setting up primary care outreach points, and instituting multi-month dispensing services to sustain client care. Therefore, service providers and policymakers should explore alternative strategies to increase HIV testing rates impacted by COVID-19 and leverage funding to continue providing the identified adapted services.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 12, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 7, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 7, 2023
• Print ISSN: 1090-7165
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-3254
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Pages: 186-200
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04139-4
• Keywords: HIV testing, COVID-19, Service response, Impact, Utilisation, ART adherence, Patient care