HIV Prevention Integration Improved Detection - EMJ

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Integrating HIV Prevention Boosted Early Detection

Key Summary:

  • HIV prevention integration improved early HIV detection among women of reproductive age.
  • Integrated services increased HIV testing coverage to 35–99% versus 20–95% in non-integrated care.
  • Stronger primary care, health literacy, and stigma reduction were needed for successful implementation.

HIV PREVENTION integrated into reproductive health services improved early HIV detection among women of reproductive age, according to a systematic literature review that examined evidence from Indonesia and international studies. The findings suggested that combining reproductive health services with HIV prevention represented a practical strategy for increasing testing uptake while addressing persistent gaps in early diagnosis.

Women of reproductive age accounted for a substantial proportion of HIV cases in Indonesia and globally. However, early detection coverage and progress towards the 95–95–95 targets remained below national goals. Family planning services and antenatal care were identified as important opportunities for integrating HIV prevention because these services routinely engaged women during their reproductive years.

The review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses 2020 guidance and searched six databases for studies published between 2015–2025. Study selection used the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study framework, while quality assessment was conducted using recognised critical appraisal tools before findings were synthesised narratively.

Integrated Care Increased Detection

Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, including multicountry systematic reviews and primary studies conducted in Indonesia. Across the evidence base, integration of family planning services with HIV testing consistently increased early HIV detection coverage.

Integrated services achieved testing coverage ranging from 35–99%, compared with 20–95% in non-integrated services. The review also found that women of reproductive age with greater knowledge of HIV were more likely to express interest in voluntary counselling and testing.

Evidence from Indonesia further indicated that implementation of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme continued to face challenges within primary healthcare settings. These barriers included health system limitations alongside persistent social stigma, both of which reduced the effectiveness of integrated service delivery.

Implications for Clinical Practice

The review concluded that integrating reproductive health services with HIV prevention was supported by strong evidence as a strategy to improve early HIV detection among women of reproductive age. The authors highlighted that successful implementation in Indonesia would depend on strengthening primary healthcare systems while improving health literacy and addressing stigma simultaneously.

Reference

Febri Adriati. Integration of reproductive health services into HIV prevention for women of reproductive age: a systematic literature review. Cendekia Medika: Jurnal STIKes Al-Ma’arif Baturaja. 2026;11(3):doi: https://doi.org/10.52235/cendekiamedika.v11i3.858.

Featured image: Viacheslav Yakobchuk on Adobe Stock.

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