BackgroundThe use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a core strategy proposed by the World Health Organization in preventing mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. This systematic review aimed to examine the enablers and barriers of medication adherence among HIV positive pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsWe used the following keywords: HIV AND (Pregnancy OR Pregnant*) AND (PMTCT OR “PMTCT Cascade” OR “Vertical Transmission” OR “Mother-to-Child”) AND (Prevent OR Prevention) AND (HAART OR “Antiretroviral Therapy” OR “Triple Therapy”) AND (Retention OR Concordance OR Adherence OR Compliance) to conduct electronic searches in the following databases: MEDLINE Complete (1916-Dec 2017), Embase (1947-Dec 2017), Global Health (1910-Dec 2017) and CINAHL Complete (1937-Dec 2017). Of the four databases searched, 401 studies were identified with 44 meeting the inclusion criteria. Seven studies were added after searching reference lists of included articles, resulting in 51 articles in total.ResultsThe review demonstrated that stigma, cost of transportation, food deprivation and a woman’s disclosure or non-disclosure of her HIV status to a partner, family and the community, could limit or define the extent of her adherence to prescribed antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. Furthermore, the review indicated that knowledge of HIV status, either before or during pregnancy, was significantly associated with medication adherence. Women who knew their HIV status before pregnancy demonstrated good adherence while women who found out their HIV infection status during pregnancy were linked with non-adherence to ART.ConclusionThis review revealed several barriers and enablers of adherence among pregnant women taking ART in sub-Saharan Africa. Major barriers included the fear of HIV infection status disclosure to partners and family members, stigma and discrimination. A major enabler of adherence in women taking ART was women’s knowledge of their HIV status prior to becoming pregnant. Enhanced effort is needed to facilitate women’s knowledge of their HIV status before pregnancy to enable disease acceptance and management, and to support pregnant women and her partner and family in dealing with fear, stigma and discrimination about HIV.

The use of device reminder, a combination of social support and structural support, and education, social support and structural support has the potential to improve ART adherence during pregnancy. Good quality prospective observational studies and randomized control trials are needed in sub-Saharan Africa to determine the most effective interventions.

Background Based on the Global Trends report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, in high-income countries, there are 2.7 refuges per 1000 national population, girls and women account for nearly 50% of this refuge population. In these high-income countries, compared with the general population refuge women have higher prevalence of mental illness. Thus, this review was conducted to examine the barriers to and facilitators of access to mental health services for refugee women in high-income countries for refugee resettlement. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases for research articles written in English with qualitative component. The last search date was on March 14, 2020. A narrative synthesis was conducted to gather key synthesis evidence. Refugee women (aged 18 and older) that could receive mental health services were included. Men and women under non-refugee migrant legal status were excluded. Studies were evaluated studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist. Results Of the four databases searched, 1258 studies were identified with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. Three studies were cross-sectional by design, eight studies used a qualitative approach and one studies used mixed approach. The major barriers identified were language barriers, stigmatization, and the need for culturally sensitive practices to encourage accessing mental health care within a religious and cultural context. There were several studies that indicated how gender roles and biological factors played a role in challenges relating to accessing mental health services. The major facilitators identified were service availability and awareness in resettlement countries, social support, and the resilience of refugee women to gain access to mental health services. Conclusion This review revealed that socio-economic factors contributed to barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health among women refugees and asylum seekers. Addressing those social determinants of health can reduce barriers and enhance facilitators of access to mental health care for vulnerable populations like refugee women. A key limitation of the evidence in this review is that some data may be underreported or misreported due to the sensitive and highly stigmatizing nature of mental health issues among refugee populations. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020180369

Background An understanding of the potential of virtual reality to affect the level of engagement in self‐care and health‐related quality of life is required for patients receiving haemodialysis. Objective This scoping review aimed to collate, summarise, and report on related study findings to identify evidence gaps and draw conclusions from the existing literature. Methods The methodological steps outlined in the Arksey and O'Malley framework combined with modifications of Levac and colleagues guided this systematic scoping review. MEDLINEComplete, Embase, CINAHLComplete and PsychINFO databases were searched. Additionally, hand searches of key articles and journals were performed. Results From the database searches, 610 studies were identified with 11 meeting the inclusion criteria; another study was added after searching reference lists of included articles, resulting in 12 included articles. The quality, study design and type of virtual reality intervention varied. Only three studies used immersive virtual reality. Several studies demonstrated significant improvement in the physical activity level and a reduction in fatigue in patients during haemodialysis, with no adverse events. Despite the demands of haemodialysis sessions, this study showed that virtual reality interventions may improve the level of haemodialysis patients' adherence and engagement with treatment. Conclusions Findings favour the use of virtual reality to improve physical health and engagement with treatment. However, there is a need for more rigorous study designs within different clinical settings to provide high‐quality evidence regarding other ways that virtual reality interventions could improve the quality of life of haemodialysis patients.