Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review
Background: Sexual transmission of HIV frequently occurs in the context of a primary relationship between two partners; however, HIV prevention interventions generally focus on individuals at risk, rather than specifying couples as a unit of change and analysis, neglecting the crucial role that part...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2018-06-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1136 |
| _version_ | 1818246881517502464 |
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| author | Sibongile Mashaphu Jonathan K. Burns Gail E. Wyatt Naseema B. Vawda |
| author_facet | Sibongile Mashaphu Jonathan K. Burns Gail E. Wyatt Naseema B. Vawda |
| author_sort | Sibongile Mashaphu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Sexual transmission of HIV frequently occurs in the context of a primary relationship between two partners; however, HIV prevention interventions generally focus on individuals at risk, rather than specifying couples as a unit of change and analysis, neglecting the crucial role that partners may play in sexual behaviour. This article reviews published scientific literature addressing couple-oriented HIV counselling and testing and other behavioural interventions using an online search for peer-reviewed papers.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate what has been published on psychosocial interventions in HIV serodiscordant couples in Africa. Electronic databases were searched from January 1990 to December 2015. Quality assessment of included studies was conducted using the Systematic Appraisal of Quality in Observational Research tool.
Results: The electronic database searches initially retrieved 493 records; after cross-referencing, removing duplicates and applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, only eight papers were included in this review. All the studies under review showed that couples-focused counselling and educational programmes were associated with positive outcomes including reduced HIV transmission, reduced unprotected sex, increased rates of status disclosure and high levels of treatment adherence.
Conclusions: The literature on interventions for HIV serodiscordant couples is sparse. However, most interventions indicate that couples-focused interventions are effective in HIV risk reduction. In spite of the limited available data and repeated recommendations by different health authorities, couple-centred approaches to HIV prevention have not been implemented on a large scale. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T14:55:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b0be81ea4dc4549847a7b2f8b075267 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1608-9685 2078-6786 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T14:55:51Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b0be81ea4dc4549847a7b2f8b0752672022-12-22T00:20:54ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Psychiatry1608-96852078-67862018-06-0124010.4102/sajpsychiatry.v24i0.1136399Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic reviewSibongile Mashaphu0Jonathan K. Burns1Gail E. Wyatt2Naseema B. Vawda3Department of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of ExeterDepartment of Psychiatry and Bio-behavioural Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesDepartment of Behavioural Medicine, University of KwaZulu-NatalBackground: Sexual transmission of HIV frequently occurs in the context of a primary relationship between two partners; however, HIV prevention interventions generally focus on individuals at risk, rather than specifying couples as a unit of change and analysis, neglecting the crucial role that partners may play in sexual behaviour. This article reviews published scientific literature addressing couple-oriented HIV counselling and testing and other behavioural interventions using an online search for peer-reviewed papers. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate what has been published on psychosocial interventions in HIV serodiscordant couples in Africa. Electronic databases were searched from January 1990 to December 2015. Quality assessment of included studies was conducted using the Systematic Appraisal of Quality in Observational Research tool. Results: The electronic database searches initially retrieved 493 records; after cross-referencing, removing duplicates and applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, only eight papers were included in this review. All the studies under review showed that couples-focused counselling and educational programmes were associated with positive outcomes including reduced HIV transmission, reduced unprotected sex, increased rates of status disclosure and high levels of treatment adherence. Conclusions: The literature on interventions for HIV serodiscordant couples is sparse. However, most interventions indicate that couples-focused interventions are effective in HIV risk reduction. In spite of the limited available data and repeated recommendations by different health authorities, couple-centred approaches to HIV prevention have not been implemented on a large scale.https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1136HIV/AIDSAfricaSerodiscordant (mixeddiscordant)risk reduction intervention (therapycounseling) |
| spellingShingle | Sibongile Mashaphu Jonathan K. Burns Gail E. Wyatt Naseema B. Vawda Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review South African Journal of Psychiatry HIV/AIDS Africa Serodiscordant (mixed discordant) risk reduction intervention (therapy counseling) |
| title | Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review |
| title_full | Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review |
| title_short | Psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards HIV risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in Africa: A systematic review |
| title_sort | psychosocial and behavioural interventions towards hiv risk reduction for serodiscordant couples in africa a systematic review |
| topic | HIV/AIDS Africa Serodiscordant (mixed discordant) risk reduction intervention (therapy counseling) |
| url | https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1136 |
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