HIV care and support services offered in mobile health clinics: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: This systematic review was undertaken based on available data on human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) care, management, and support services provided by mobile health clinics (MHCs) in various countries globally, to identify available HIV care and support services, as outlined by PEPFAR’s ‘universal’ framework for MHCs. The review question was “What universal HIV care and support is available at MHCs?” Material and methods: The search yielded 34,954 articles and was conducted within four databases, including EBSCOhost (UKZN library), Google Scholar, PubMed, and CINAHL. The search yielded 25 studies, which met the inclusion criteria, from 2011 to 2020. Results: Seven themes were identified relating to HIV care and support services offered by MHCs. Theme 1: Fragmented or selected universal HIV care and support services available at mobile health clinics, Theme 2: Lack of local support for HIV care and support services from ministries of health. Theme 3: Success relies on multiple stakeholders’ engagement. Theme 4: Excellent platform to reach marginalized population and expanding healthcare access. Theme 5: Possible multi-health program delivery. Theme 6: Implementation of critical viable point-of-care services. Theme 7: Follow-up care leads to successful health outcomes for patients attending MHCs. Conclusions: Intentional and carefully planned HIV services delivered by MHCs ensure that minimum universal HIV care and support is achieved for people living with HIV. Local access to healthcare services is improved and yielding positive impact by reducing HIV-related morbidity and mortality rates in the communities, while at risk-populations are considered.

Keywords

• antiretroviral therapy
• community-based hiv care
• hiv care and support
• mobile health clinics
• community-based clinics