Conference Websites Research Articles

Propping up the parents: An environmental scan of childcare programs available to cancer patients in North America.

e18805 Background: Approximately 20% of newly diagnosed cancer patients are between the ages of 20 and 54, and many of these patients are also the primary caregivers of children. Qualitative studies focusing on this demographic indicate that patients who are parents struggle to balance their own care needs with those of their children. Further, a lack of childcare support during cancer treatments can negatively impact compliance and increase existing psychological stress for patients. In the efforts to establish a child-minding program at a major Canadian cancer centre, we carried out an environmental scan to evaluate the current state of childcare support for cancer patients. Methods: Firstly, a literature scan was conducted in order to assess current knowledge about childcare and cancer patients, which included the use of search engines, directed internet searches, a review of oncology conference proceedings and websites of oncology associations. Literature was selected based on pre-determined criteria. Secondly, 12 representatives from major Canadian cancer centres (CCC) completed a questionnaire assessing current childcare strategies at their respective institutions. Finally, a broad scan of the grey literature was conducted by investigating 161 Canadian and American hospitals for on-site childcare services, using lay-accessible searching techniques (hand-searching hospital websites, phone and email correspondences). Results: The literature scan identified seventeen primary articles, which focused largely on exploring the role strain faced by patients who are also parents. A single study explored the instrumental challenges of being a parent with cancer, and formally assessed the childcare needs of these patients. The questionnaire results indicated that only two of the twelve investigated CCCs had established an approach to child-minding for patients. The grey literature scan identified twenty-six on-site, patient-accessible child-minding centres at hospitals in Canada and the US based on pre-determined inclusion criteria. Of these, 76.9% of centres were associated with pediatric hospitals, and 69.2% were located in the United States. Most centres (76.9%) were open for over 30 hours per week, and 88.5% of centres were free of charge to users. Conclusions: These findings generally indicate that a minority of Canadian and American hospitals and cancer centres have formal childcare services in place to support patients who are also parents. As cancer patients are at increased risk for financial toxicity, they may be particularly in need of this kind of instrumental support. This highlights the importance of carrying out a targeted needs assessment in order to fully elucidate the need for patient-accessible childcare services at CCCs.

Executive function in HIV-affected children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analyses

ABSTRACT This review aimed to determine: whether EF is affected in children and adolescents (2–24-years-old) with perinatal HIV infection, perinatal HIV exposure without infection, and behaviourally acquired HIV. A systematic review (PROSPERO number: CRD42017067813) was conducted using 11 electronic databases (01.01.1981–09.07.2019) and 8 conference websites. Primary quantitative studies with EF scores on cognitive tasks and/or behavioural report measures were included. Meta-analyses were performed by EF subtype and subpopulations compared. 1789 records were found. Sixty-one studies were included in the narrative synthesis; 32 (N = 7884 participants) were included in meta-analyses. There was a distinct pattern of reduced EF in those with perinatal HIV infection on antiretroviral therapy compared to controls: pooled effect sizes were largest for verbal and visuospatial working memory, with smaller effects on planning, inhibitory control and set-shifting. Data were limited for other HIV-affected subpopulations. Perinatal HIV infection is associated with reduced EF with varying effect sizes for the different EF subtypes.

A rapid review and synthesis of the effectiveness of programmes initiating community-based antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa.

BackgroundCommunity-based antiretroviral therapy initiation (CB-ARTi) has the potential to reduce attrition by increasing access to care, reducing patient costs, decongesting clinics and ensuring improved uptake of ART. There is a paucity of research that identifies successful implementation of CB-ARTi in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to review and describe the evidence on the effectiveness of CB-ARTi programmes that start ART in communities in comparison with the current standards of care in SSA.MethodsA rapid review of grey and published peer-reviewed literature between January 2009 and July 2019, by using PubMed, PDQ-Evidence, Google Scholar, clinical trial databases and major HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) conference websites, was conducted. Search terms used included ‘community-based’, ‘home initiation community models’, ‘antiretroviral therapy’, ‘clinical outcomes’, ‘viral suppression’, ‘retention in care’, ‘loss to follow-up’, ‘HIV’ and ‘sub-Saharan Africa’.ResultsThe search yielded 90 articles and reports following the removal of duplicates. After initial screening and full-text screening, six articles remained and were included in the qualitative narrative synthesis. This included four randomised control trials and two cohort studies of specific interventions comparing CB-ARTi with the standard of care in SSA. There is evidence that CB-ARTi can increase access to HIV-testing services, linkage to ART, retention in care and viral suppression rates and is possibly not inferior to facility-based healthcare.ConclusionCB-ARTi has the potential to increase access to HIV services to people living with HIV in SSA. The results mentioned previously suggest that CB-ARTi models could prove to be equal and possibly not inferior to facility-based ones and warrant further investigation.

Guidance for overviews of reviews continues to accumulate, but important challenges remain: a scoping review

BackgroundOverviews of reviews (overviews) provide an invaluable resource for healthcare decision-making by combining large volumes of systematic review (SR) data into a single synthesis. The production of high-quality overviews hinges on the availability of practical evidence-based guidance for conduct and reporting.ObjectivesWithin the broad purpose of informing the development of a reporting guideline for overviews, we aimed to provide an up-to-date map of existing guidance related to the conduct of overviews, and to identify common challenges that authors face when undertaking overviews.MethodsWe updated a scoping review published in 2016 using the search methods that had produced the highest yield: ongoing reference tracking (2014 to March 2020 in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar), hand-searching conference proceedings and websites, and contacting authors of published overviews. Using a qualitative meta-summary approach, one reviewer extracted, organized, and summarized the guidance and challenges presented within the included documents. A second reviewer verified the data and synthesis.ResultsWe located 28 new guidance documents, for a total of 77 documents produced by 34 research groups. The new guidance helps to resolve some earlier identified challenges in the production of overviews. Important developments include strengthened guidance on handling primary study overlap at the study selection and analysis stages. Despite marked progress, several areas continue to be hampered by inconsistent or lacking guidance. There is ongoing debate about whether, when, and how supplemental primary studies should be included in overviews. Guidance remains scant on how to extract and use appraisals of quality of the primary studies within the included SRs and how to adapt GRADE methodology to overviews. The challenges that overview authors face are often related to the above-described steps in the process where evidence-based guidance is lacking or conflicting.ConclusionThe rising popularity of overviews has been accompanied by a steady accumulation of new, and sometimes conflicting, guidance. While recent guidance has helped to address some of the challenges that overview authors face, areas of uncertainty remain. Practical tools supported by empirical evidence are needed to assist authors with the many methodological decision points that are encountered in the production of overviews.

Featured conferences

At press time, scheduled conferences had been significantly impacted by COVID-19, often requiring cancellation or postponement of the event. Please check the conference websites for the latest updates.

Featured conferences

At press time, scheduled conferences had been significantly impacted by COVID-19, often requiring cancellation or postponement of the event. Please check the conference websites for the latest updates.

Systematic review and network meta-analysis comparing ocrelizumab with other treatments for relapsing multiple sclerosis

BackgroundOcrelizumab was approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) by the US Food and Drug Administration in March 2017 and by the European Medicines Agency in January 2018. These approvals were based on two pivotal randomized controlled trials (RCTs), OPERA I and OPERA II, comparing ocrelizumab 600 mg with an active comparator, interferon β-1a 44 μg (Rebif), and the first trial with positive results in patients with PPMS, which compared ocrelizumab with placebo. However, direct evidence of the efficacy and safety of ocrelizumab in RMS compared with other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) approved for RMS is not available from RCTs. In the absence of such RCTs, network meta-analyses (NMAs) were conducted to compare indirectly the relative efficacy and safety of ocrelizumab with all other approved DMTs for the treatment of RMS. MethodsSystematic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, trial registers, relevant conference websites and health technology assessment agency websites. Eligible RCTs evaluated approved treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) in which more than 75% of patients had a relapsing form of MS. NMAs were conducted for four efficacy and three safety outcomes, and treatment hierarchies were generated for each outcome using surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) values. ResultsResults suggest that ocrelizumab has superior efficacy to 10 of the 17 treatments in the 12-week confirmed disability progression network and 12 of the 17 treatments in the annualized relapse rate network (both including placebo). The efficacy of ocrelizumab was comparable with the other treatments in both networks. In the serious adverse events and discontinuation due to adverse events networks, ocrelizumab demonstrated a safety profile comparable with all other treatments (including placebo). SUCRA values consistently ranked ocrelizumab among the most effective or tolerable treatments across all outcomes. ConclusionsResults suggest that ocrelizumab has an efficacy superior to or comparable with all other currently approved DMTs across all endpoints analyzed, and a similar safety profile, indicating it offers a valuable package for the treatment of patients with RMS.

OP89 Conference Abstract Searching In National Institute For Health And Care Excellence Health Technology Appraisals

IntroductionThe National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines manual recommend that MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials should be prioritized for searching for reviews of the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions. Additionally, searching trial registries and conference abstracts are recommended to identify ongoing or unpublished research. However, the approaches to searching conference abstracts have not been previously studied. The aim is to analyze searches of conference abstracts reported in NICE Technology Appraisal (TA) company submissions for cancer interventions from 2013 until September 2018.MethodsThe company submissions were searched and obtained via the NICE technology appraisal guidance website. The sources used to find conference abstracts were identified from the company clinical effectiveness review search methods and appendices. Conference abstract searching in both database and website sources were compared.ResultsOf all 394 TAs, 124 (31 percent) were cancer TAs. Between 2013 and 2018, 91 TAs were completed or updated, which covered 18 cancer categories and 52 different named technologies. Technologies to treat non-small-cell lung cancer was the most frequently appraised in the last five years. Nivolumab was the most frequently appraised technology. Searches for conference abstracts were reported in 70 (77 percent) out of 91 company submissions. Supplementary searching was reported in 59 (84 percent), compared with 11 (16 percent) searching either/both Embase and the Web of Science Conference Proceeding Index (WoS-CPCI). A total of 54 supplementary website sources were searched which ranged from one to 11 per TA (average four sources). The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society of Medical Oncology were the most frequently searched sources.ConclusionsWhilst the WoS-CPCI has better coverage of cancer conference abstracts than Embase, searching databases alone are inadequate. Supplementary conference websites should be searched for reasons such as access to the most recent abstracts and incomplete indexing of titles within databases. A wide range of cancer specific sites exists although the impact of broad (e.g. ASCO) versus condition specific sites is unclear.

Extracting Specific Information in Web Pages Using Machine Learning

With the advent of the digital age, production and distribution of web pages has been exploding. Internet users frequently need to extract specific information they want from these vast web pages. However, it takes lots of time and effort for users to find a specific information in many web pages. While search engines that are commonly used provide users with web pages containing the information they are looking for on the Internet, additional time and efforts are required to find the specific information among extensive search results. Therefore, it is necessary to develop algorithms that can automatically extract specific information in web pages. Every year, thousands of international conference are held all over the world. Each international conference has a website and provides general information for the conference such as the date of the event, the venue, greeting, the abstract submission deadline for a paper, the date of the registration, etc. It is not easy for researchers to catch the abstract submission deadline quickly because it is displayed in various formats from conference to conference and frequently updated. This study focuses on the issue of extracting abstract submission deadlines from International conference websites. In this study, we use three machine learning models such as SVM, decision trees, and artificial neural network to develop algorithms to extract an abstract submission deadline in an international conference website. Performances of the suggested algorithms are evaluated using 2,200 conference websites.

Medical and surgical abortion for women living with HIV.

The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safe abortion recommend medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol or surgical abortion with vacuum aspiration or dilation and evacuation as safe and effective options for women. However, no specific clinical considerations are stipulated within these guidelines for women living with HIV. Concerns have been raised that women living with HIV may be at greater risk of adverse abortion outcomes compared to HIV-uninfected women due to immunosuppression, high rates of co-infection with other sexually transmitted infections, and possible contraindications between medications used for medical abortion and antiretroviral therapy regimens. Our primary objective was to assess the effectiveness and safety of medical versus surgical abortion among women living with HIV. Our secondary objectives were to: (1) compare outcomes of medical and surgical abortion between women living with HIV and women without HIV and (2) describe outcomes of medical and surgical abortion among women living with HIV. We conducted our search on 17 April 2018. We searched for all published and unpublished trials and observational studies of medical and surgical abortion among women living with HIV. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform using a combination of terms for abortion and HIV. We searched conference websites for relevant abstracts. We also sought unpublished data stratified by HIV status that could be newly analyzed. We considered randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, and observational studies. We considered: (1) studies on the effectiveness and safety of medical versus surgical abortion among women living with HIV; (2) studies comparing outcomes of abortion for both methods between women living with HIV and women without HIV; and (3) studies that described outcomes of abortion among women living with HIV. One review author screened the titles, abstracts, citation information, and descriptor terms for citations initially identified by the search. We obtained the full-text articles of all potentially eligible studies when these were available. Two review authors independently examined the full-text articles for compliance with the inclusion criteria and determination of final study selection. We planned to conduct meta-analysis if a sufficient number of studies (at least three) addressed the same research question and presented data on sufficiently comparable outcomes. Of 3840 records screened, we identified just one conference abstract that met our inclusion criteria. This prospective cohort study assessed the efficacy and acceptability of home administration of misoprostol for early medical abortion among women living with HIV who were of less than 63 days amenorrhea in Ukraine. Medical abortion was effective in 65 of 68 cases (96%) examined. The small number of failures included incomplete abortion (n = 1), heavy bleeding (n = 1), and ongoing pregnancy (n = 1). There were no serious infections. Due to the paucity of studies, we were unable to determine if outcome differences exist between women living with HIV and women without HIV who undergo medical or surgical abortion. We found no evidence suggesting that medical or surgical abortions are unsafe for women living with HIV. While additional research would strengthen the evidence base, healthcare providers should not be deterred from providing access to safe abortion to their patients living with HIV.

The growth and strategic functioning of One Health networks: a systematic analysis

The recent increase in attention to linkages between human health, animal health, and the state of the environment has resulted in the rapid growth of networks that facilitate collaboration between these sectors. This study ascertained whether duplication of efforts is occurring across networks, which stakeholders are being engaged, and how frequently monitoring and evaluation of investments is being reported. This study is a systematic analysis of One Health networks (OHNs) in Africa, Asia, and Europe. We defined an OHN as an engagement between two or more discrete organisations with at least two of the following sectors represented: animal health, human health, and the environment or ecosystem. Between June 5 and Sept 29, 2017, we systematically searched for OHNs in PubMed, Google, Google Scholar, and relevant conference websites. No language restrictions were applied, but we were only able to translate from English and French. Data about OHNs, including their year of initiation, sectors of engagement, regions of operation, activities conducted, and stakeholders involved, were extracted with a standardised template and analysed descriptively. After screening 2430 search results, we identified and analysed 100 unique OHNs, of which 86 were formed after 2005. 32 OHNs covered only human and animal health, without engaging with the role of the environment on health. 78 OHNs involved academic bodies and 78 involved government bodies, with for-profit organisations involved in only 23 and community groups involved in only ten. There were few collaborations exclusively between networks in the developing world (four OHNs) and only 15 OHNs reported monitoring and evaluation information. The majority of OHNs worked on supporting communication, collaboration, information sharing, and capacity building. Amid concerns about there being insufficient strategic direction and coordination in the growth of OHNs, our study provides empirical evidence about limitations in stakeholder representation, apparently absent or ambiguous monitoring and evaluation structures, and potential areas of duplication. The collective strategic functioning of OHNs might be improved by more transparent reporting of goals and outcomes of OHN activities, as well as more collaborations led by networks within the developing world and increased attention to environmental health. None.

Syzygium Cordatum Hochst. ex Krauss: An Overview of Its Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Properties.

Syzygium cordatum is a valuable medicinal plant in the materia medica of east and southern Africa. The aim of this study was to review the botany, medicinal uses, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacological properties of S. cordatum. Relevant literature search was carried out using internet sources such as ACS, Web of Science, Wiley, SpringerLink, Scopus, Mendeley, Google Scholar, Pubmed, SciFinder, BioMed Central, Science Direct and Elsevier. Other literature sources were conference papers, book chapters, books, theses and websites. The leaves, roots, bark and fruits of S. cordatum are used as ethnomedicines against 24 human diseases such as gastro-intestinal disorders, burns, sores, wounds, colds, cough, respiratory complaints, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis, fever and malaria. Several phytochemical compounds including alkaloids, anthocyanidin, essential oils, flavonoids, leucoanthocyanidin, phenols, phytosterols, saponins, simple sugars, terpenoids and triterpenoid have been identified from S. cordatum. Pharmacological evaluations revealed that S. cordatum is characterized by several biological activities including antibacterial, antifungal, antidiarrheal, anti-sexually transmitted infections, antidiabetic, anticholinesterase, anti-inflammatory, antileishmanial, antioxidant, antiplasmodial and anti-proteus. These pharmacological findings lend credence to the traditional ethnomedicinal uses and ethnopharmacological importance of S. cordatum. Future research on the species should identify the biological compounds, their mode of action and physiological pathways and clinical relevance.

A systematic review of risk of HIV transmission through biting or spitting: implications for policy.

ObjectivesThe perceived threat of HIV transmission through spitting and biting is evidenced by the increasing use of “spit hoods” by Police Forces in the UK. In addition, a draft parliamentary bill has called for increased penalties for assaults on emergency workers, citing the risk of communicable disease transmission as one justification. We aimed to review literature relating to the risk of HIV transmission through biting or spitting.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase and Northern Lights databases and conference websites using search terms relating to HIV, AIDS, bite, spit and saliva. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to identified citations. We classified plausibility of HIV transmission as low, medium, high or confirmed based on pre‐specified criteria.ResultsA total of 742 abstracts were reviewed, yielding 32 articles for full‐text review and 13 case reports/series after inclusion and exclusion criteria had been applied. There were no reported cases of HIV transmission related to spitting and nine cases identified following a bite, in which the majority occurred between family (six of nine), in fights involving serious wounds (three of nine), or to untrained first‐aiders placing fingers in the mouth of someone having a seizure (two of nine). Only four cases were classified as highly plausible or confirmed transmission. None related to emergency workers and none were in the UK.ConclusionsThere is no risk of transmitting HIV through spitting, and the risk through biting is negligible. Post‐exposure prophylaxis is not indicated after a bite in all but exceptional circumstances. Policies to protect emergency workers should be developed with this evidence in mind.

Efficacy and Tolerability of Guanylate Cyclase-C Agonists for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation and Chronic Idiopathic Constipation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Linaclotide and plecanatide are guanylate cyclase-C (GCC) agonists for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). Our objective is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of GCC agonists based on data from multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched PubMED, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, clinicaltrials.gov, major conference abstracts, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) websites, and United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings of drug sponsors to identify RCTs of CIC or IBS-C patients. We assessed efficacy based on FDA-approved composite responder endpoints, diarrhea as an adverse event, and study withdrawal owing to diarrhea for each therapy. Trial results were pooled using DerSimonian and Laird random effects model of meta-analysis and exact logistic regression when appropriate with 95% confidence intervals. Meta-regression was performed to compare outcomes between therapies adjusting for placebo event rate. Eight linaclotide trials (five CIC; three IBS-C) and seven plecanatide trials (four CIC; three IBS-C) evaluating 10,369 patients met inclusion criteria. FDA publications documented that different definitions for diarrhea were used in linaclotide vs. plecanatide trials. Both drugs were efficacious in treating CIC (linaclotide 72 μg (Odds ratio (OR)=3.11, 95% CI 1.81-5.34); linaclotide 145 μg (OR=3.25, 2.15-4.91); plecanatide 3 mg (OR=1.99, 1.57-2.51)) and IBS-C (linaclotide 290 μg (OR=2.43, 1.48-3.98); plecanatide 3 mg (OR=1.87, 1.47-2.38); plecanatide 6 mg (OR=1.92, 1.48-2.48)). Diarrhea occurred in excess of placebo in treating CIC (linaclotide 72 μg (OR=3.07, 1.97-4.77); linaclotide 145 μg (OR=3.70, 2.69-5.10); plecanatide 3 mg (OR=3.86, 1.83-8.12)) and IBS-C (linaclotide 290 μg (OR=8.02, 5.20-12.37); plecanatide 3 mg (OR=5.55, 1.62-19.00); plecanatide 6 mg (OR=4.13, 1.57-10.83)). Based on meta-regression, there were no statistically significant differences between therapies in odds ratios for efficacy, diarrhea, or diarrhea-related study withdrawals. Both linaclotide and plecanatide demonstrate similar efficacy and tolerability in treating IBS-C and CIC. No differences in odds of diarrhea were seen between linaclotide and plecanatide.

Anaesthesia TV: Beginning of a New Revolution!

Anaesthesia TV: Beginning of a New Revolution!

Systematic literature review and network meta-analysis of cladribine tablets versus alternative disease-modifying treatments for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis

Objective: To assess the comparative efficacy and safety of cladribine tablets versus alternative disease modifying treatments (DMTs) in patients with active relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and in a subgroup with high disease activity (HRA + DAT), using systematic literature review (SLR) and network meta-analysis (NMA).Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, MEDLINE In-Process and CENTRAL databases were systematically searched to identify English-language publications of relevant studies of approved DMTs for RRMS. Searches were conducted from database inception to January 2017. Conference websites and trial registries were also searched. NMA considered the effects of DMTs on annualized relapse rate (ARR), confirmed disease progression (CDP), no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) and safety.Results: Of 10,825 articles retrieved and screened, 44 studies assessing 12 DMTs contributed to the NMA. In patients with active RRMS, cladribine tablets were associated with a significant 58% reduction in ARR versus placebo (p < .05); cladribine tablets were similar or significantly better than other DMT regimens and ranked fourth among DMTs, behind alemtuzumab, natalizumab and ocrelizumab. For CDP for 6 months and NEDA, improvements with cladribine tablets were significantly greater than those of placebo (p < .05), with no comparator DMT demonstrating significantly better results. Similar findings were reported in the HRA + DAT population. Overall adverse event risk for cladribine tablets did not differ significantly from that of placebo and most alternative DMTs.Conclusion: In this first NMA to consider cladribine tablets, ocrelizumab and daclizumab for treatment of RRMS, cladribine tablets are a comparatively effective and safe alternative to other DMTs in both active RRMS and HRA + DAT populations.

Social Media Interventions to Promote HIV Testing, Linkage, Adherence, and Retention: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BackgroundSocial media is increasingly used to deliver HIV interventions for key populations worldwide. However, little is known about the specific uses and effects of social media on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) interventions.ObjectiveThis systematic review examines the effectiveness of social media interventions to promote HIV testing, linkage, adherence, and retention among key populations.MethodsWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist and Cochrane guidelines for this review and registered it on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PROSPERO. We systematically searched six databases and three conference websites using search terms related to HIV, social media, and key populations. We included studies where (1) the intervention was created or implemented on social media platforms, (2) study population included men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender individuals, people who inject drugs (PWID), and/or sex workers, and (3) outcomes included promoting HIV testing, linkage, adherence, and/or retention. Meta-analyses were conducted by Review Manager, version 5.3. Pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by random-effects models.ResultsAmong 981 manuscripts identified, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria. We found 18 studies from high-income countries, 8 in middle-income countries, and 0 in low-income countries. Eight were randomized controlled trials, and 18 were observational studies. All studies (n=26) included MSM; five studies also included transgender individuals. The focus of 21 studies was HIV testing, four on HIV testing and linkage to care, and one on antiretroviral therapy adherence. Social media interventions were used to do the following: build online interactive communities to encourage HIV testing/adherence (10 studies), provide HIV testing services (9 studies), disseminate HIV information (9 studies), and develop intervention materials (1 study). Of the studies providing HIV self-testing, 16% of participants requested HIV testing kits from social media platforms. Existing social media platforms such as Facebook (n=15) and the gay dating app Grindr (n=10) were used most frequently. Data from four studies show that HIV testing uptake increased after social media interventions (n=1283, RR 1.50, 95% CI 1.28-1.76). In the studies where social media interventions were participatory, HIV testing uptake was higher in the intervention arm than the comparison arm (n=1023, RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.19-2.26).ConclusionsSocial media interventions are effective in promoting HIV testing among MSM in many settings. Social media interventions to improve HIV services beyond HIV testing in low- and middle-income countries and among other key populations need to be considered.Trial RegistrationInternational Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42016048073; http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42016048073 (Archived by WebCite at http://www. webcitation.org/6usLCJK3v)

How healthy are DocEng, JCDL and UMAP series of conferences?

ACM SIGWEB sponsors and supports several conferences covering a wide range of topics. UMAP, JCDL and DocEng are three of the many sponsored conferences by ACM SIGWEB. UMAP, JCDL and DocEng are reputed conferences, being held for several years and has a large community of contributing authors and PC members. In this article, we present a study on the health of these three conferences based on several factors and metrics such as stability, openness, inbreeding, representativeness and sustainability. Studying the health of a conferences provides a reflection and historical overview in-terms of its performance which can be used by the conference community to bring improvements and ensure that the conference is meeting its desired objectives. We conduct statistical analysis and information visualization on the conference data downloaded from DBLP, ACM Digital Library web-pages and conference websites. Our analysis reveals that overall all the three conferences are showing good health indicators. We do observe variances in metrics values across conferences and within conferences across years.

학회 웹사이트의 토픽 정보추출을 이용한 주제에 따른 학회 자동분류 기법

Recently, the number of academic conference information on the Internet has rapidly increased, the automatic classification of academic conference information according to research subjects enables researchers to find the related academic conference efficiently. Information provided by most conference listing services is limited to title, date, location, and website URL. However, among these features, the only feature containing topical words is title, which causes information insufficiency problem. Therefore, we propose methods that aim to resolve information insufficiency problem by utilizing web contents. Specifically, the proposed methods the extract main contents from a HTML document collected by using a website URL. Based on the similarity between the title of a conference and its main contents, the topical keywords are selected to enforce the important keywords among the main contents. The experiment results conducted by using a real-world dataset showed that the use of additional information extracted from the conference websites is successful in improving the conference classification performances. We plan to further improve the accuracy of conference classification by considering the structure of websites.

How healthy are ACM SIGWEB sponsored conferences?

ACM SIGWEB sponsors and supports several conferences covering a wide range of topics. CIKM, HT, WEBSCI and WSDM are four of the many sponsored conferences by ACM SIGWEB. CIKM, HT, WEBSCI and WSDM are reputed conferences, being held for several years and has a large community of contributing authors and PC members. In this article, we present a study on the health of these four conferences based on several factors and metrics such as stability, openness, inbreeding, representativeness, sustainability, prestige and workload. Studying the health of a conferences provides a reflection and historical overview in-terms of its performance which can be used by the conference community to bring improvements and ensure that the conference is meeting its desired objectives. We conduct statistical analysis and information visualization on the conference data downloaded from DBLP, ACM Digital Library web-pages and conference websites. Our analysis reveals that overall all the four conferences are showing good health indicators. We do observe variances in metrics values across conferences and within conferences across years.