Community Mobilization is Associated with HIV Testing Behaviors and Their Psychosocial Antecedents Among Zambian Adults: Results from a Population-Based Study.

Community mobilization (CM) is a vital yet under-explored avenue for increasing HIV testing in generalized HIV epidemic settings. Using multi-stage cluster sampling, a population-based sample of 3535 Zambian adults (mean age: 28 years, 50% women) were recruited from 14 districts to complete a household survey. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to re-validate a 23-item, 5-factor CM scale. Multivariable logistic and Poisson regression were then used to identify associations of CM with HIV testing behaviors and their psychosocial antecedents. A 21-item, 3-factor ("Leadership", "Collective Action Capacity", and "Social Cohesion") CM solution emerged from EFA (Cronbach's α 0.88). Among men and in rural settings, higher CM was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with elevated odds of HIV testing and more past-year HIV testing discussion sources, controlling for socio-demographics and sexual behaviors. Results underscore the importance of prioritizing CM to cultivate more favorable environments for HIV testing uptake, especially for men and rural residents.

Fallacy of the last bed dilemma.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the relevance of adequate decision making at both public health and healthcare levels. A bioethical response to the demand for medical care, supplies and access to critical care is needed. Ethically sound strategies are required for the allocation of increasingly scarce resources, such as rationing critical care beds. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the so-called 'last bed dilemma'. In this paper, we examine this dilemma, pointing out the main criteria used to solve it and argue that we cannot face these ethical issues as though they are only a dilemma. A more complex ethical view regarding the care of COVID-19 patients that is focused on proportional and ordinary treatments is required. Furthermore, discussions and forward planning are essential because deliberation becomes extremely complex during an emergency and the physicians' sense of responsibility may be increased if it is faced only as a moral dilemma.

Barriers, benefits, and behaviour: Voluntary medical male circumcision ideation in a population-based sample of Zambian men.

Reaching ambitious voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) coverage targets requires a deeper understanding of the multifaceted processes shaping men's willingness to access VMMC. Guided by the Ideation Model for Health Communication, this population-based study identifies correlates of Zambian men's future VMMC intentions. Multistage cluster sampling was used to identify households with adult men in 14 districts. Multivariable Poisson regression with robust standard errors modelled associations of future VMMC intent with ideational factors (e.g. perceived benefits and barriers) and sexual behaviours respectively. Forty per cent (40%) of uncircumcised men (N = 1 204) expressed future VMMC intentions. In multivariable analysis, VMMC intent was associated with secondary education or higher (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio [APR] 1.30, 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI]: 1.02-1.66), perceiving VMMC to increase sexual satisfaction (APR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.11-1.89), reporting distance to services as a barrier to VMMC uptake (APR = 0.54, 95% CI: 1.27-1.87), unprotected last sex (APR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.11-2.14), and ≥ 2 sexual partners in the past 12 months (APR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.05-1.99). Being aged ≥ 45 years (vs 18-24 years: APR 0.23, 95% CI: 0.13-0.40) and perceiving that circumcision: (1) is unimportant (APR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.51-0.98); (2) is incompatible with local customs (APR 0.41, 95% CI: 0.18-0.94); or (3) reduces sexual satisfaction (APR 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02-0.62) were inversely associated with future VMMC intent. Demand-creation efforts must confront salient cognitive and social barriers to VMMC uptake, including concerns around incompatibility with local customs. Simultaneously, promotional efforts should emphasise relevant VMMC benefits beyond HIV prevention that resonate with men (e.g. penile hygiene) without reinforcing harmful gender norms.

Medically, Traditionally, and Dually Circumcised Men in Lesotho: Population-Based Measurements of HIV/STI Infections, Sexual Risk Behaviors, and Service Use Patterns.

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is an HIV prevention priority in Lesotho, but uptake remains suboptimal. We analyzed the 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey to assess population-level social, behavioral, and serological correlates of circumcision status, specifically traditional and/or medical circumcision. Among 2931 men, approximately half were traditionally circumcised, and fewer than 25% were medically circumcised. Only 4% were dually (traditionally and medically) circumcised. In multivariate analysis, only medical circumcision emerged as significantly (p < 0.05) protective against HIV infection, whereas dual circumcision was significantly associated with past-year STI symptomology. Younger (ages 15-24), lower educated, rural-dwelling, and traditionally circumcised men, including those who never tested for HIV, had significantly lower odds of medical circumcision. Our findings indicate other unmeasured behavioral factors may mitigate VMMC's protective effect against HIV and STI infections in dually circumcised men. Further research can help identify counseling and demand creation strategies for traditionally circumcised men presenting for VMMC.

Left behind?: male clients of female sex workers in Zambia.

Male clients of female sex workers (CFSWs) are a key-affected group within the HIV epidemic. However, few studies have quantified HIV/STI burdens among CFSWs. This study used nationally representative data from the 2013-14 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey to estimate proxies for HIV and STI prevalence among sexually active men aged 15-59 paying for sex recently (past 12 months) [5%, n = 679] or in their lifetime [15%, n = 1,887]. Chi-square tests were calculated to assess differences in prevalence estimates between CFSWs and non-clients. Multivariable logistic regression models were generated to identify sociodemographic factors associated with prevention characteristics. CFSWs had higher odds of reporting HIV infection (recent: aOR 1.413, p < 0.05; lifetime: aOR 1.604, p < 0.001) and past-year STI symptomology (recent: aOR 3.342, p < 0.001; lifetime: aOR 2.266, p < 0.001) than non-clients, irrespective of transactional sex recency. Compared to non-clients, CFSWs were more likely to be <25yo (42% vs. 29%, p < 0.001), have a cohabitating partner (43% vs. 35%, p < 0.001), use condoms at last sex (31% vs. 27%, p < 0.001), and never test for HIV (36% vs. 29%, p < 0.001). When comparing CFSWs to non-clients, marital status was an effect modifier of HIV testing, medical circumcision, and condom use at last sex. Findings suggest high HIV/STI burdens and highlight the urgent need for differentiated HIV prevention programming for CFSWs in Zambia including the provision of PrEP.

Systematic review of the effect of economic compensation and incentives on uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision among men in sub-Saharan Africa.

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) prevalence in priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among men aged ≥20 years, has not yet reached the goal of 80% coverage recommended by the World Health Organization. Determining novel strategies to increase VMMC uptake among men ≥20 years is critical to reach HIV epidemic control. We conducted a systematic review to analyze the effectiveness of economic compensation and incentives to increase VMMC uptake among older men in order to inform VMMC demand creation programs. The review included five qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies published in peer reviewed journals. Data was extracted into a study summary table, and tables synthesizing study characteristics and results. Results indicate that cash reimbursements for transportation and food vouchers of small nominal amounts to partially compensate for wage loss were effective, while enrollment into lotteries offering prizes were not. Economic compensation provided a final push toward VMMC uptake for men who had already been considering undergoing circumcision. This was in settings with high circumcision prevalence brought by various VMMC demand creation strategies. Lottery prizes offered in the studies did not appear to help overcome barriers to access VMMC and qualitative evidence suggests this may partially explain why they were not effective. Economic compensation may help to increase VMMC uptake in priority countries with high circumcision prevalence when it addresses barriers to uptake. Ethical considerations, sustainability, and possible externalities should be carefully analyzed in countries considering economic compensation as an additional strategy to increase VMMC uptake.

The multidimensional nature of HIV stigma: evidence from Mozambique.

HIV stigma continues to be a major challenge to addressing HIV/AIDS in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Mozambique. This paper explores the multidimensional nature of HIV stigma through the thematic analysis of five qualitative studies conducted in high HIV prevalence provinces in Mozambique between 2009 and 2012. These studies included 23 interviews with people living with HIV (PLHIV) (10 women and 13 men); 6 focus groups with 32 peer educators (24 women and 8 men) working for community-based organisations (CBOs) providing services to PLHIV; 17 focus groups with community members (72 men and 70 women); 6 interviews (4 women and 2 men) with people who had family members living with HIV/AIDS; 24 focus groups (12 with men and 12 with women) and 6 interviews with couples. Our findings indicate that HIV stigma is a barrier to HIV testing and counselling, status disclosure, partner notification, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) access and adherence, and that moral stigma seems to be more common than physical stigma. Additionally, the findings highlight that HIV stigma is a dynamic social process that is conceptualised as being tied to personal responsibility. To effectively diminish HIV stigma in Mozambique, future interventions should address moral stigma and re-conceptualise HIV as a chronic disease.

HIV-Alcohol Risk Reduction Interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Recommendations for a Way Forward.

Sub-Saharan Africa bears 69 % of the global burden of HIV, and strong evidence indicates an association between alcohol consumption, HIV risk behavior, and HIV incidence. However, characteristics of efficacious HIV-alcohol risk reduction interventions are not well known. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the characteristics and synthesize the findings of HIV-alcohol risk reduction interventions implemented in the region and reported in peer-reviewed journals. Of 644 citations screened, 19 met the inclusion criteria for this review. A discussion of methodological challenges, research gaps, and recommendations for future interventions is included. Relatively few interventions were found, and evidence is mixed about the efficacy of HIV-alcohol risk reduction interventions. There is a need to further integrate HIV-alcohol risk reduction components into HIV prevention programming and to document results from such integration. Additionally, research on larger scale, multi-level interventions is needed to identify effective HIV-alcohol risk reduction strategies.

Diagnosing death: the "fuzzy area" between life and decomposition.

This paper aims to determine whether it is necessary to propose the extreme of putrefaction as the only unmistakable sign in diagnosing the death of the human organism, as David Oderberg does in a recent paper. To that end, we compare Oderberg's claims to those of other authors who align with him in espousing the so-called theory of hylomorphism but who defend either a neurological or a circulatory-respiratory criterion for death. We then establish which interpretation of biological phenomena is the most reasonable within the metaphysical framework of hylomorphism. In this regard, we hold that technology does not obscure the difference between life and death or confect metaphysically anomalous beings, such as living human bodies who are not organisms or animals of the human species who are informed by a vegetative soul, but instead demands a closer and more careful look at the "fuzzy area" between a healthy (living) organism and a decaying corpse. In the light of hylomorphism, we conclude that neurological and circulatory-respiratory criteria are not good instruments for diagnosing death, since they can offer only probabilistic prognoses of death. Of the two, brain death is further away from the moment of death as it merely predicts cardiac arrest that will likely result in death. Putrefaction, the criterion that Oderberg proposes, is at the opposite end of the fuzzy area. This is undoubtedly a true diagnosis of death, but it is not necessary to wait for putrefaction proper-a relatively late stage of decomposition-to be sure that death has already occurred. Rather, early cadaveric phenomena demonstrate that the matter composing a body is subject to the basic forces governing all matter in its environment and has thus succumbed to the universal current of entropy, meaning that the entropy-resisting activity has ceased to constitute an organismal unity. When this unity is lost, there is no possibility of return.

Applications of the High Impact Practices in Family Planning during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially strained health systems across the globe. In particular, documented disruptions to voluntary family planning and reproductive health care due to competing health priorities, service disruptions, stockouts, and lockdowns are significantly impacting reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. As governments and family planning programmes grapple with how best to respond to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic on family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), the implementation and adaptation of evidence-based practices is crucial. In this commentary, we outline applications of the High Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIPs) towards COVID-19 response efforts. The HIPs are a set of evidence-based family planning practices which reflect global expert consensus on what works in family planning programming. Drawing upon preliminary COVID-19 data, documented experiences from prior health emergencies, and recommended programme adaptations from a variety of global health partners, we outline situations where specific HIPs may assist family planning programme managers in developing context-specific and evidence-based responses to COVID-19-related impacts on FP/RH, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the accessibility, availability, and continuity of voluntary family planning services across the world.

Systematic review of barriers and facilitators to voluntary medical male circumcision in priority countries and programmatic implications for service uptake.

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is an effective biomedical HIV prevention strategy. There is a need to identify key barriers and facilitators to VMMC uptake in priority countries to improve uptake. In this paper, we report findings from a systematic review of the barriers and facilitators of VMMC uptake, comparing them across countries in order to provide programmers critical information to design effective VMMC uptake interventions. Our review followed PRISMA protocol. Twenty three articles from 10 of the 14 priority countries were included. The top three barriers cited were: MC negatively perceived as being practiced by other or foreign cultures and religions, fear of pain caused by the procedure, and perceptions of VMMC as not helpful/needed. The top four facilitators cited in most countries were: Belief that VMMC reduces health risks and improves hygiene, family and peer support of MC, and enhanced sexual performance and satisfaction. The barriers and facilitators highlighted in this paper can help inform programmatic strategies in these countries. More research is needed to ensure that all sub-populations are being adequately reached. By applying this information to new research and programming, these countries can achieve greater VMMC uptake - and thus reductions in HIV transmission and prevalence.

A sign of the times: To have or to be? Social capital or social cohesion?

Among various social factors associated with health behavior and disease, social cohesion has not captured the imagination of public health researchers as much as social capital as evidenced by the subsuming of social cohesion into social capital and the numerous studies analyzing social capital and the comparatively fewer articles analyzing social cohesion and health. In this paper we provide a brief overview of the evolution of the conceptualization of social capital and social cohesion and we use philosopher Erich Fromm's distinction between "having" and "being" to understand the current research focus on capital over cohesion. We argue that social capital is related to having while social cohesion is related to being and that an emphasis on social capital leads to individualizing tendencies that are antithetical to cohesion. We provide examples drawn from the literature where this conflation of social capital and cohesion results in non-concordant definitions and subsequent operationalization of these constructs. Beyond semantics, the practical implication of focusing on "having" vs. "being" include an emphasis on understanding how to normalize groups and populations rather than providing those groups space for empowerment and agency leading to health.

Long-term acyclovir use to prevent recurrent ocular herpes simplex virus infection.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of more than 12 months of oral acyclovir therapy in reducing recurrences of ocular herpes simplex virus. METHODS: We retrospectively compared ocular herpes simplex virus recurrence in 2 groups of patients. In group 1, patients used oral acyclovir for at least 12 months and then discontinued the treatment. In group 2, patients received the treatment for at least 18 months. We compared recurrences when both groups were using acyclovir (period 1) and when only group 2 was receiving the drug (period 2). Statistical analysis was performed with the t test, chi2 test, and Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Group 1 had 18 patients and a mean +/- SD follow-up of 45.2 +/- 22.2 months. Group 2 had 22 patients and a mean +/- SD follow-up of 42.4 +/- 30.2 months. Six patients (33%) in group 1 and 4 patients (18%) in group 2 had recurrence in period 1 (P =.3). In period 2, 14 patients (78%) in group 1 and 8 patients (36%) in group 2 had recurrence (P =.01). Mean +/- SD recurrence-free survival in period 2 was 15.3 +/- 5.5 months in group 1 and 37.3 +/- 6.3 months in group 2 (P =.001). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term oral acyclovir use seems to remain effective in decreasing the number of ocular herpes simplex virus recurrences beyond 12 months.

Treatment of advanced acanthamoeba keratitis with deep lamellar keratectomy and conjunctival flap.

PURPOSE: To describe whether deep lamellar keratectomy with a conjunctival flap is effective for the treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis. METHODS: Two patients (three eyes) had at least a 4-week history of painful keratitis misdiagnosed as herpetic keratitis and bacterial keratitis. Both patients were started on multiple topical antiamoebic drugs after Acanthamoeba infection was confirmed. No improvement was observed after 3-4 weeks. Surgery was then performed. Peribulbar anesthesia was given, and the infected tissue was removed by deep lamellar keratectomy. A bipediculate conjunctival flap was put in place and secured with interrupted 10-0 nylon sutures. RESULTS: Both patients experienced immediate pain relief. The infection was controlled and all medications were tapered. There were neither necrosis nor retraction of the flap. Final examination revealed a Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/100 in each eye in the patient described in case number one at 30 months, and 20/100 in the patient described in case number two at 13 months. CONCLUSION: Deep lamellar keratectomy with a conjunctival flap is a suitable approach to help control the infection and to help relieve pain in patients with advanced Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Occupational rhinoconjunctivitis and food allergy because of aniseed sensitization.

BACKGROUND: Aniseed is a spice frequently used in Mediterranean cooking and, as with other Umbelliferae, it has been involved in clinical allergy. OBJECTIVE: This investigation was undertaken to study the allergens implicated in a case of occupational allergy to aniseed associated with rhinoconjunctivitis and gastrointestinal symptoms. METHODS: Skin prick tests were performed to inhalant allergens, spices used in the patient's workplace (aniseed and cinnamon), and 12 other Umbelliferae spices, birch, and mugwort. A nasal challenge test to aniseed and cinnamon and a double-blind placebo-controlled oral food challenge test to aniseed were also performed. The molecular weights of the allergens were studied by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis immunoblotting and cross-reactivity among Umbelliferae species by enzyme immunoassay inhibition. RESULTS: Skin prick tests showed a positive immediate response to aniseed, asparagus, caraway, coriander, cumin, dill, and fennel extracts, and an intense late response to aniseed. Skin prick tests to celery, carrot, birch pollen, and mugwort pollen extracts were negative. Results of a nasal challenge test were positive to aniseed and negative to cinnamon; an aniseed oral food challenge test yielded a positive response. The molecular weights of the main immunoglobulin (Ig)E-binding proteins in aniseed extracts were approximately 48, 42, 39, 37, 34, 33, and 20 kD. Caraway, fennel, cumin, and coriander extracts showed similar IgE-binding patterns. Enzyme immunoassay inhibition studies with the patient's serum revealed cross-reactivity among the IgE components from aniseed, caraway, coriander, fennel, and dill extracts. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate the presence of aniseed allergens in a case of occupational rhinoconjunctivitis and food allergy, with molecular weights for this spice that differed from those previously reported.