The Social, Behavioral, and Ethical Modalities of COVID-19 on HIV Care in South Africa: A Systematic Review

Khushali Roy (), Aliayah Himelfarb, Kapil Karrah, Laura Porterfield, Lauren Paremoer, Hani Serag and Wei-Chen Lee
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Khushali Roy: School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
Aliayah Himelfarb: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
Kapil Karrah: Medical College, MedCiti Medical Institute, Ghanpur 501401, Telangana, India
Laura Porterfield: Department of Family Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
Lauren Paremoer: Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
Hani Serag: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
Wei-Chen Lee: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: The profound public health impact of the novel outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2019 has been unparalleled in the last century. Rapid spread of the disease and a high death toll fueled the development and global rollout of effective vaccines regardless of the massive inequitable access. However, some public health measures intended to control COVID-19 have had collateral effects on the control of other infectious diseases. In this systematic review, we analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on efforts to control HIV in South Africa, emphasizing the social, ethical, and behavioral ramifications. The SCOPUS, PubMed, Ovid, PsychINFO, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for publications between March 2020 and January 2022. Of the 854 articles identified, 245 were found duplicated, and 609 were screened, 241 of which were potentially eligible, and 15 of which were ultimately included. Although no studies on the ethical implications were eligible for our study criteria due to insufficient primary data to perform an analysis on, we explored this topic in the Discussion section of this paper. We confirm declines in ART, PrEP, and HIV testing during the initial lockdown period, with slight variations across the South African provinces. Protecting routine services and reducing the disease burden on high-risk nations such as South Africa is imperative moving forward with the pandemic.

Keywords: HIV; COVID-19; district health information system; service delivery; stigma; lockdown; ART disruptions; clinic visits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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