Bmc Public Health
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Review Meta Analysis
Work environments and HIV prevention: a qualitative review and meta-synthesis of sex worker narratives.
Sex workers (SWs) experience a disproportionately high burden of HIV, with evidence indicating that complex and dynamic factors within work environments play a critical role in mitigating or producing HIV risks in sex work. In light of sweeping policy efforts to further criminalize sex work globally, coupled with emerging calls for structural responses situated in labour and human-rights frameworks, this meta-synthesis of the qualitative and ethnographic literature sought to examine SWs' narratives to elucidate the ways in which physical, social and policy features of diverse work environments influence SWs' agency to engage in HIV prevention. ⋯ Policy reforms to remove punitive approaches to sex work, ensure supportive workplace standards and policies, and foster SWs' ability to work collectively are recommended to foster the realization of SWs' health and human rights across diverse settings. Future qualitative and mixed-methods research is recommended to ensure that HIV policies and programmes are grounded in SWs' voices and realities, particularly in more under-represented regions such as Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Review Meta Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of food safety education interventions for consumers in developed countries.
Foodborne illness has a large public health and economic burden worldwide, and many cases are associated with food handled and prepared at home. Educational interventions are necessary to improve consumer food safety practices and reduce the associated burden of foodborne illness. ⋯ In controlled trials, food safety education interventions showed significant effects in some contexts; however, many outcomes were very heterogeneous and do not provide a strong quality of evidence to support decision-making. Future research in this area is needed using more robust experimental designs to build on interventions shown to be effective in uncontrolled before-and-after studies.
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Review Meta Analysis
Variation and risk factors of drug resistant tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Prevalence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), defined as in vitro resistance to both rifampicin and isoniazid with or without resistance to other TB drugs, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is reportedly low compared to other regions. These estimates are based on data reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on drug resistance surveys, which may suffer from a reporting bias. We set out to evaluate the variation in prevalence of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and its determinants across SSA countries among new and previously treated TB patients. ⋯ The reported prevalence of DR-TB in SSA is low compared to WHO estimates. MDR-TB in this region does not seem to be driven by the high HIV prevalence rates.
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Review Meta Analysis
Household antimicrobial self-medication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the burden, risk factors and outcomes in developing countries.
Antimicrobial self-medication is common in most low and middle income countries (LMICs). However there has been no systematic review on non-prescription antimicrobial use in these settings. This review thus intended to establish the burden, risk factors and effects of antimicrobial self-medication in Low and Middle Income Countries. ⋯ The prevalence of antimicrobial self-medication is high and varies in different communities as well as by social determinants of health and is frequently associated with inappropriate drug use.
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Meta Analysis
Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers.
Volunteering has been advocated by the United Nations, and American and European governments as a way to engage people in their local communities and improve social capital, with the potential for public health benefits such as improving wellbeing and decreasing health inequalities. Furthermore, the US Corporation for National and Community Service Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 focused on increasing the impact of national service on community needs, supporting volunteers' wellbeing, and prioritising recruitment and engagement of underrepresented populations. The aims of this review were to examine the effect of formal volunteering on volunteers' physical and mental health and survival, and to explore the influence of volunteering type and intensity on health outcomes. ⋯ Observational evidence suggested that volunteering may benefit mental health and survival although the causal mechanisms remain unclear. Consequently, there was limited robustly designed research to guide the development of volunteering as a public health promotion intervention. Future studies should explicitly map intervention design to clear health outcomes as well as use pragmatic RCT methodology to test effects.