Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Highlights Recently Released Studies
The following highlights recently released studies related to HIV/AIDS.
- "Uptake of Workplace HIV Counseling and Testing: A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Zimbabwe," PLoS Medicine: Elizabeth Corbett of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues studied ways to increase voluntary counseling and testing in Africa and found that offering VCT in the workplace might increase the number of people using such services. According to the researchers, accessibility and convenience are critical to increasing VCT (Corbett et al., PLoS Medicine, 7/4).
- "Use of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Postexposure Prophylaxis in Adolescent Sexual Assault Victims," Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine: Elyse Olshen of Columbia University and colleagues conducted the study of 145 adolescents visiting one of two urban emergency departments within 72 hours of sexual assault. According to the study, 27% of the participants did not know if a condom had been used during the assault, 54% did not know if ejaculation had occurred and 21% reported losing consciousness during the assault. Of the 129 participants who were offered HIV postexposure prophylaxis, 110 accepted, according to the study. Eighty-six participants who began PEP were seen during follow-up visits, 13 of whom completed the full PEP regimen, the study finds. Almost half of participants who started PEP and had follow-up visits reported adverse reactions to the regimen, according to the researchers. Psychiatric issues were reported in 47% of the participants and were associated with lower PEP adherence, the study finds. "Patient education and a comprehensive follow-up system with extensive outreach and case management are necessary to encourage PEP adherence and return for follow-up care among adolescent sexual assault survivors," the authors concluded (Reuters UK, 7/3).
- "Training and HIV-Treatment Scale-Up: Establishing an Implementation Research Agenda," PLoS Medicine: Elizabeth McCarthy and colleagues from the Consortium for Strategic HIV Operations Research at the Clinton Foundation examined factors that affect the design of training programs for health care workers in the HIV/AIDS field. The researchers examined care delivery models, the different roles health workers play, resources available for training and program development. The researchers concluded that all of these factors significantly affect training design (McCarthy et al., PLoS Medicine, 7/4).