Maria Pyra

Phetole Walter Mahasha

Frontiers in Reproductive Health

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TYPE EditorialPUBLISHED 17 July 2023| DOI 10.3389/frph.2023.1228325EDITED AND REVIEWED BYElizabeth Bukusi,Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI),Kenya*CORRESPONDENCEMaria Pyramaria.pyra@northwestern.eduRECEIVED 24 May 2023ACCEPTED 01 June 2023PUBLISHED 17 July 2023CITATIONPyra M and Mahasha PW (2023) Editorial:Impact of COVID-19 on HIV/STI screening,prevention, and treatment.Front. Reprod. Health 5:1228325.doi: 10.3389/frph.2023.1228325COPYRIGHT© 2023 Pyra and Mahasha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).The use, distribution or reproduction in otherforums is permitted, provided the originalauthor(s) and the copyright owner(s) arecredited and that the original publication in thisjournal is cited, in accordance with acceptedacademic practice. No use, distribution orreproduction is permitted which does notcomply with these terms.Frontiers in Reproductive HealthEditorial: Impact of COVID-19 onHIV/STI screening, prevention, andtreatmentMaria Pyra1* and Phetole Walter Mahasha2,31Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, 2Grants, Innovationsand Product Development (GIPD) Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa,3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Pretoria,Pretoria, South AfricaKEYWORDSHIV, COVID-19, Sexually tranmistted infections, testing, Pandemic (COVID-19)Editorial on the Research TopicImpact of COVID-19 on HIV/STI screening, prevention, and treatmentThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and continues to impact healthcare access in a varietyof ways. Globally, the pandemic led to changes in access to HIV treatment and prevention, aswell as to HIV/STI testing. This Research Topic covers 4 papers that explore the impact ofCOVID-19 pandemic in more detail. From Zambia, authors Kafwanka et al. examined theimpact of the pandemic on ART adherence among those living with HIV, with thepandemic starting contemporaneously with a national Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) campaign. Among those with at least 6 months on treatment, and across a range ofregimens, viral load suppression was more common among adults starting treatmentduring the pandemic compared to the 9 years before the pandemic. The authors provide athoughtful discussion on the ways the pandemic interfered with adherence and emphasizethe need to create a resilient healthcare system. From the Netherlands, Goense et al.investigated the use of home-testing to address gaps in sexual health services during thepandemic using a behavior change framework. Among MSM who had previously attendedstate-run sexual health clinics, the authors found many had continued testing during thepandemic. Normative beliefs and intentions were all positive for the use of home testing,with no variation by self-reported sexual behavior. The authors conclude with a discussionon how to integrate home testing with the clinic model. Two papers from the UnitedStates in Chicago explore changes in testing during different phases of the pandemic.Authors Stanford et al. analyzed STI testing and diagnoses at a University EmergencyDepartment (ED), which serves a socio-economically vulnerable population. They havereported that, while testing declined during the earliest months of the pandemic andreturned to expected patterns by the end of the first year of the pandemic, positivity ratesfor STIs increased during the same early period before returning to normal (withchlamydia rates remaining high). The authors include a discussion of how to bettersupport the use of STI testing in ED, especially to support marginalized populations. Last,a paper by Pyra et al., examined trends in HIV and STI testing at a Chicago federally-qualified health center (FQHC) over three phases of the pandemic. Their analysis alsofound a decline in testing during the earliest phase of the pandemic, followed by increasesto almost pre-pandemic levels in late stages of the pandemic, although some trans andnonbinary populations may still be testing at lower levels.01 frontiersin.orgPyra and Mahasha 10.3389/frph.2023.1228325Taken together, these studies clearly illustrate that, acrosscountries, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact onaccess to HIV and STI healthcare services, predominantly duringthe earliest months of the local response. While some aspects—like STI testing—appear to be returning to pre-pandemic levels,the impact of untreated diseases or delayed HIV suppression willtake longer and more effort to reverse. These papers suggestareas to strengthen healthcare systems against futureinterruptions—which populations may most benefit when accessis a limited resource, how to improve access through noveltesting and care approaches, and how to build a more resilienthealthcare system.Author contributionsMP drafted the editorial and PH revised it. All authorscontributed to the article and approved the submitted version.Frontiers in Reproductive Health 02Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conductedin the absence of any commercial or financialrelationships that could be construed as a potential conflictof interest.Publisher’s noteAll claims expressed in this article are solely those of theauthors and do not necessarily represent those of theiraffiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, theeditors and the reviewers. Any product that may beevaluated in this article, or claim that may be made byits manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by thepublisher.frontiersin.org

Editorial: Impact of COVID-19 on HIV/STI screening, prevention, and treatment

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Editorial: Impact of COVID-19 on HIV/STI screening, prevention, and treatment

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