Methodological Insights from Health Valuation Studies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: Valuation studies generate utility values for health states using stated preference methods. These studies are complex and resource intensive, posing implementation challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review aimed to examine how valuation studies in LMICs have navigated these challenges.

The prevalence and correlates of common mental disorders among adolescents and young adults in rural South Africa: analysis of household survey data informed by lived experience experts.

Background: Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental disorders (CMDs) affecting adolescents and young adults (AYA). CMDs often emerge during adolescence and young adulthood, yet are frequently diagnosed in adulthood. Understanding the burden and correlates of CMDs is essential for informing public mental health interventions.

Fediša Modikologo: breaking the intergenerational cycle of violence against women and children. Theoretical framework and protocol for a prospective cohort study.

In South Africa, after two decades of national femicide surveillance, we know comparatively little about what places women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at risk of intimate partner femicide. Further we have not mapped the multi-generational health, social and economic impact of severe IPV on women subjected to it, and their children, nor the consequences of help-seeking, nor described what helps, STET recovery trajectories. This study aims to deepen understanding of risk factors for femicide and the health, social and economic impacts of severe IPV on women and their families, including understanding risk and resilience to intergenerational cycling of violence.

Using a cash transfer plus SMS nudge package to improve the wellbeing among caregivers of adolescents living with HIV during the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa: A pilot randomised controlled trial.

Caregivers of adolescents living with HIV encounter multiple economic and psycho-social challenges which impair their wellbeing and provision of optimal care. Cash transfers combined with short message service (SMS) nudges may address the financial and mental barriers to caregiver wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility outcomes of this multipronged approach for improving caregiver wellbeing.

A cash transfer plus gender transformative economic empowerment intervention seeking to improve the wellbeing of caregivers of children and adolescents living with HIV in South Africa: a feasibility study protocol for a pilot cluster randomized trial.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV care is dependent on informal caregiving, typically by female family members. Informal caregiving has been associated with numerous negative effects on caregivers (i.e.

Proximity to public green spaces and depressive symptoms among South African residents: a population-based study.

Background: Exposure to green spaces has been suggested to improve mental health and may reduce the risk of depression. However, there is generally limited evidence on the association between green spaces and depression originating from low-and middle-income countries and Africa in particular. Here, we investigate the association between proximity to public green spaces and depressive symptoms among residents of Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Health-related quality of life among people living with HIV in the era of universal test and treat: results from a cross-sectional study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Background: The World Health Organisation's (WHO) key population-based strategy for ending the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is universal HIV test and treat (UTT) along with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Despite the successful scale-up of the UTT strategy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains sub-optimal. Poor QoL in PLHIV may threaten the UNAIDS 95-95-95 programme targets.

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Schoolgoing Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa.

(1) Background: By October 2022, vaccination rates with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine were low among adolescent girls aged 12-17 (38%) and young women aged 18-34 (45%) in South Africa. This study aimed to measure and identify barriers to and facilitators of motivation to take up, access to, and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among schoolgoing adolescent girls and young women in two districts in South Africa. (2) Methods: Using the theory of the HIV prevention cascade, we conceptualised the relationship between motivation, access, and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, and associated barriers.

Applying the HIV Prevention Cascade to an Evaluation of a Large-Scale Combination HIV Prevention Programme for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa.

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa are at a three times higher risk of acquiring HIV than their male counterparts. The HIV prevention cascade is a tool which can be used to measure coverage of HIV prevention services, although there is limited empirical evidence to demonstrate its application in low-resourced settings. The unifying framework is a conceptualisation of the HIV prevention cascade which theorises that both motivation and access are required for an individual to effectively use an HIV prevention method.

A prediction risk score for HIV among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: identifying those in need of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) have the highest risk of acquiring HIV. This has led to several studies aimed at identifying risk factors for HIV in AGYM. However, a combination of the purported risk variables in a multivariate risk model could be more useful in determining HIV risk in AGYW than one at a time.

Service delivery models that promote linkages to PrEP for adolescent girls and young women and men in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an emerging biomedical prevention intervention. Documenting PrEP service delivery models (SDMs) that promote linkage to and continuation of PrEP will inform guidelines and maximise roll-out.

Objectives: To synthesise and appraise the effectiveness and feasibility of PrEP SDMs designed to promote linkage to PrEP care among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and men in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Adaptation and Resilience: Lessons Learned From Implementing a Combination Health and Education Intervention for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with reduced access to health services and worsening health outcomes for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Through the analysis of data from an evaluation study of a combination intervention for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa, we sought to examine the way in which implementation and service provision were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, describing the adaptation implementers made to respond to this context. The intervention was implemented from 2019 in South African districts identified as high priority, given the high rates of HIV and teenage pregnancy amongst AGYW.

Strengthening health system's capacity for linkage to HIV care for adolescent girls and young women and adolescent boys and young men in South Africa (SheS'Cap-Linkage): Protocol for a mixed methods study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Introduction: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15-24 years and adolescent boys and young men (ABYM) aged 15-34 years represent one of the populations at highest risk for HIV-infection in South Africa. The National Department of Health adopted the universal test and treat (UTT) strategy in 2016, resulting in increases in same-day antiretroviral therapy initiations and linkage to care. Monitoring progress towards attainment of South Africa's 95-95-95 targets amongst AGYW and ABYM relies on high quality data to identify and address gaps in linkage to care.

"It's Better If I Die Because Even in the Hospital, There is a Stigma, People Still Gossip": Gossip as a Culturally Shaped Labeling Process and Its Implications for HIV-Related Stigma in Botswana.

This study qualitatively explores HIV-related gossip as both a manifestation and driver of HIV-related stigma, which is a known barrier to HIV testing and treatment in Botswana. Data were elicited from 5 focus group discussions and 46 semi-structured in-depth interviews with individuals living with HIV and community members with undisclosed serostatus in Gaborone, Botswana in 2017 (n = 84). Directed content analysis using the 'What Matters Most' theoretical framework identified culturally salient manifestations of HIV-related stigma; simultaneous use of Modified Labeling Theory allowed interpretation and stepwise organization of how the social phenomenon of gossip leads to adverse HIV outcomes.

An economic incentive package to support the wellbeing of caregivers of adolescents living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa: a feasibility study protocol for a pilot randomised trial.

Background: The mental and financial strain linked to unpaid caregiving has been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. In sub-Saharan Africa, carers of adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) are critical for maintenance of optimum HIV treatment outcomes. However, the ability of caregivers to provide quality care to ALHIV is undermined by their ability to maintain their own wellbeing due to multiple factors (viz.

Service delivery models for enhancing linkage to and retention in HIV care services for adolescent girls and young women and adolescent boys and young men: a protocol for an overview of systematic reviews.

Introduction: Recent advances in the HIV care continuum have shown that an individual diagnosed with HIV should be initiated on antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible regardless of the CD4 count levels and retained in HIV care services. Studies have reported large losses in the HIV continuum of care, before and after the era of universal test and treat. Several systematic reviews have reported on the strategies for improving linkage to and retention in HIV treatment and care.

Participation in an HIV prevention intervention and access to and use of contraceptives among young women: A cross sectional analysis in six South African districts.

Objective: This study investigated whether young women's participation in a combination HIV-prevention intervention was associated with accessing and using condoms and other contraceptives.

Study Design: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted from 2017 to 2018 among a representative sample of young women aged 15-24 years old living in six South African districts in which the intervention was implemented. Cross-tabulations and multivariate regression analyses of weighted data were performed to examine access to and use of condoms and other contraceptives.

"These Girls Have a Chance to be the Future Generation of HIV Negative": Experiences of Implementing a PrEP Programme for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa.

Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly efficacious for HIV prevention. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) have been prioritised for PrEP delivery in South Africa. A combination HIV prevention intervention providing integrated biomedical, behavioural and structural interventions for AGYW aged 15-24 in twelve districts in South Africa characterised by high HIV prevalence, was implemented 2019-2022.

Intersections between COVID-19 and socio-economic mental health stressors in the lives of South African adolescent girls and young women.

Background: In contexts where poverty and mental health stressors already interact to negatively impact the most vulnerable populations, COVID-19 is likely to have worsened these impacts. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa already faced intersecting mental health stressors and vulnerabilities. It is critical to understand how additional challenges brought on by COVID-19 have intersected with existing vulnerabilities and mental health risks AGYW faced, particularly given the intersections between psychological distress and increased risk behaviours that impact sexual and reproductive health.

Strengthening health system's capacity for pre-exposure prophylaxis for adolescent girls and young women and adolescent boys and young men in South Africa (SHeS'Cap-PrEP): Protocol for a mixed methods study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective prevention intervention that can be used to control HIV incidence especially among people who are at increased risk for HIV such as adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and adolescent boys and young men (ABYM). In South Africa, various approaches of delivering PrEP have been adopted at different service delivery points (facility-based only, school-based only, community-based only and hybrid school-facility and community-facility models) to overcome challenges associated with individual, structural, and health systems related barriers that may hinder access to and uptake of PrEP among these populations. However, little is known about how to optimize PrEP implementation and operational strategies to achieve high sustained uptake of good quality services for AGYW and ABYM.

Subjective well-being and COVID-19 prevention practices among people living with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa.

COVID-19 poses significant threats to the health of people with underlying chronic conditions, including people living with HIV. The association between subjective well-being and practicing COVID-19 preventive behaviours among people living with HIV is yet to be empirically tested. The objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that subjective well-being would be associated with engaging in greater COVID-19 preventive behaviours.

A qualitative enquiry into the meaning and experiences of wellbeing among young people living with and without HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Young people in sub-Saharan Africa encounter health and livelihood challenges which may compromise their wellbeing. Understanding how young people's wellbeing is defined could strengthen wellbeing policies. We investigated perceptions and experiences of young people's wellbeing, and whether these aligned with Ryff's psychological wellbeing (PWB) model.

Informing the measurement of wellbeing among young people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa for policy evaluations: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are at high risk of having a poor quality of life. Addressing wellbeing explicitly within HIV/AIDS policies could assist mitigation efforts. However, guidance on wellbeing measures to evaluate policies for YPLHIV is scarce.

The Effects of School-Based Condom Availability Programs (CAPs) on Condom Acquisition, Use and Sexual Behavior: A Systematic Review.

We conducted a systematic review to assess the impact of school-based condom availability programs (CAPs) on condom acquisition, use and sexual behavior. We searched PubMed to identify English-language studies evaluating school-based CAPs that reported process (i.e.