Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv ) - 1389 Words

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a public health epidemic that affects millions of people around the world. As technology and medical advances have been made, many people affected by HIV in developed countries are able to sustain relatively normal lifestyles. Unfortunately, of the 36.9 million people living with HIV, 22 million still need to be reached with proper antiretroviral therapy treatment, preventative education, and supportive programs (UNAIDS, 2015). Most of the people that still need to be reached reside in developing countries and do not have the same means and resources to access to HIV prevention and treatment as those in developed countries. Many developing countries are dependent on outside sources to help educate,†¦show more content†¦For this reason, Bateganya et al decided to start their investigation with two questions. The first question they asked was, â€Å"Do social service interventions have an impact on mortality, morbidity, retention in HIV care, quality of life, and prevention of ongoing HIV Transmission?† (Bateganya et al, 2015). The second question they asked related to the cost-effectiveness of the social services provided. By asking these essential questions, Bateganya et al were able to limit their literature search. The researchers used databases, such as Medline and African Index Medicus, to find articles published from 1995 to 2014 that related to their research. Studies were included in their analysis as long as they included information evaluation at least one social service intervention, was conducted in a resource limited setting, and mentioned the outcomes of service intervention. Once studies were found, Bateganya et al found the study period, country, number of participants, and determined which social service interventions were being reported on (Table 1-5). The researchers then rated the overall quality of the evidence as strong, medium, or weak and than further rated the quality of the evidenc e for each individual outcome as good, fair, or poor (Bateganya et al, 2015). The final step Bateganya et al took was to rate the social service intervention impact on each outcome as high, moderate, low, or