Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 660080 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé |
| NOMBRES | Francesc Xavier |
| APELLIDO | Gómez-Olivé |
| FIRMA | GÓMEZ-OLIVÉ F X |
| AFILIACIONES | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4876-0848 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 117 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 112 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 117 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2007 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 7 |
The Effect of Internal Migration on Blood Pressure among a Cohort of Young Adults in South Africa
The economic cost of outpatient primary care of adults with multimorbidity (HIV, diabetes, and hypertension) in rural South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is experiencing an epidemiological transition where non-communicable diseases are becoming the leading cause of disability and mortality alongside infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Multimorbidity, the coexistence of two or more long-term conditions, is increasing in SSA. However, the cost of managing multimorbidity is largely unknown. This study aimed to estimate the economic cost of public outpatient primary care for…
Viral load dynamics among adults receiving HIV care in rural North-Eastern South Africa, 2015–2020
Introduction: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS set ambitious-but-reachable targets to have 95% of HIV-positive people diagnosed, 95% on ART, and 95% virally suppressed by 2030. To address the latter, post-2016, South Africa's HIV treatment guidelines aimed to deliver maximal and durable viral load (VL) suppression through extensive antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up. Yet, standard suppression one-off measurement conceals viral re…
Advancing the course of HIV genomics research in Africa
BOX The use of genomics methods and technologies for HIV research and public health holds potential in reducing the HIV burden in sub-Saharan Africa
Changes in the provision and utilisation of health care services for chronic health conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic in rural northeast South Africa
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the provision and utilisation of health care services with varying magnitude across settings due to spatial temporal variation in the burden of COVID-19 cases and the roll-out of local COVID-19 response policies. This study assesses changes in the provision and utilisation of health care services for three major chronic health conditions (HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and diabetes) over the pre-COVID-19 an…
Trajectories and predictors of HIV care retention among individuals receiving ART in rural South Africa
Background: Successful retention in care of people living with HIV remains a challenge and a cornerstone of ending the epidemic. A better understanding of retention predictors could guide an evidence-based approach to target interventions. We sought to characterise HIV care retention trajectories among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a rural South Africa setting, and to determine factors associated with those trajectories. M…
The Strength of Long-Distance Ties for Aging Healthy With HIV
Objectives In lower-income settings with limited government-funded care, personal social networks are often the primary means by which older persons access resources and support. We tested the association between long-distance ties—ties that span greater geographical and network distances—and HIV treatment outcomes in a rural South African community with one of the largest aging populations with HIV. Methods We used data from the “Health and Agin…
Stress-responsive biomarkers and sexual behaviors among young women in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a critical period when youth develop their decision-making skills and may engage in their first sexual encounters. Stress during this time can affect decision making; however, limited research has examined the relationship between biological stress correlates and sexual behavior among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in high-HIV incidence areas. PURPOSE: To examine whether stress-responsive biomarkers are longitu…
Is hypertension screening effective in a low-resource setting? A multidimensional regression discontinuity design
Noncommunicable diseases impede development, yet evidence on screening in low-resource settings is scarce. We evaluate hypertension screening in rural South Africa using a multidimensional regression discontinuity: a survey measures blood pressure (BP) and refers individuals exceeding either of two thresholds. Overall, referral modestly raises treatment uptake but shows no average BP effect after 4 years. We use BP variation with time of day and …
Mortality variability and differentials by age and causes of death in rural South Africa, 1994–2018
INTRODUCTION: Understanding mortality variability by age and cause is critical to identifying intervention and prevention actions to support disadvantaged populations. We assessed mortality changes in two rural South African populations over 25 years covering pre-AIDS and peak AIDS epidemic and subsequent antiretroviral therapy (ART) availability. METHODS: Using population surveillance data from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveill…
Moving towards a person-centred HIV care cascade
In 2022, in recognition of lags in data infrastructure, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended the use of routinely linked individual patient data to monitor HIV programmes. The WHO also recommended a move to person-centred care to better reflect the experiences of people living with HIV. The switch from aggregated service level data to person-centred data will likely introduce some biases and errors. However, little is understood about …
“I am adhering to HIV treatment so that I can live to support her”
Background: Intergenerational family care, which was upended by the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), may return to a pre-HIV era arrangement as access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) expands and treated adults can once again provide support for older household members. Empirical research has demonstrated positive 'spillover effects' of ART uptake from treated adults to younger generations, yet much less is known about the nature and brea…
Leadership, cohesion, and stress in primary care facilities and retention in chronic care in rural northeast South Africa before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hypertension are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in South Africa. Effective management of these conditions is critical to population health, yet patient management and retention varies by facility for reasons that are not fully understood. We assessed whether measures of clinic leadership, cohesion, and stress were associated with retention for HIV and hypertension in a cohort of pa…
Trajectories of intimate partner violence and their relationship to stress among young women in South Africa
BACKGROUND: One in four South African women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, potentially increasing their biological stress. In South Africa, limited IPV and stress research has utilized multiple timepoints or examined modifying factors. Cash transfers (CTs) are associated with reduced IPV and stress and may be an intervention target. AIMS: We used data-driven methods to identify longitudinal IPV trajectory group…
Mental distress, food insecurity and university student dropout during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020
While acknowledging that various factors and complexities contribute to student dropout, the increased vulnerability to food insecurity and mental distress, stemming from issues such as widespread job losses and isolation experienced during the pandemic, may have also had an impact on dropout. This work reiterates the importance of directing additional support to students who are food insecure and those who are experiencing mental distress in ord…
Sociocultural perceptions of physical activity and dietary habits for hypertension control
Lifestyle interventions to control hypertension for adults in a rural South African setting using physical activity promotion and dietary control must consider the beliefs related to hypertension control of this population
The Association Between HIV-Related Stigma and the Uptake of HIV Testing and ART Among Older Adults in Rural South Africa
HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain critical for curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS, but stigma can impede access to these services. Using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we used a multivariable logistic regression to examine the correlation between HIV-related stigma, HIV testing and ART uptake in older adults. We used four questions to measure stigma, w…
Developmental Trajectories of Transactional Sex and Age-Disparate Relationships During Adolescence
Understanding Household Dynamics From the Ground Up
Investigations into household structure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide important insight into how families manage domestic life in response to resource allocation and caregiving needs during periods of rapid sociopolitical and health-related challenges. Recent evidence on household structure in many LMICs contrasts with long-standing viewpoints of worldwide convergence to a Western nuclearized household model. Here, we adopt …
Assessing the durability of a cash transfer on physical intimate partner violence and sexual relationships among adolescent girls and young women in rural South Africa
The cash transfer reduced AGYW's risk of IPV, though effects were attenuated after the cash ended. Provision of cash during adolescence - a period when AGYW are highly susceptible to IPV and HIV - may empower them in their current relationship and yield long term health benefits
The path between socioeconomic inequality and cognitive function
Background: Socioeconomic position (SEP) strongly predicts late-life cognitive health, yet the pathways between SEP and cognitive function remain unclear. This study assessed whether and to what extent the association between SEP and cognitive function in the adult population in rural South Africa is mediated by some health conditions, behavioral factors, and social capital factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used data from the 20…
Intergenerational spillover effects of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa
BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) may influence individuals who do not receive the intervention but who are connected in some way to the person who does. Relatively little is known, however, about the size and scope of, what we term, spillover effects of ART. We explored intergenerational spillover effects of ART in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and identified several directions for future research. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review betwee…
Indirect effects of Covid-19 on maternal and child health in South Africa
BACKGROUND: The unfinished burden of poor maternal and child health contributes to the quadruple burden of disease in South Africa with the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic yet to be fully documented. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health in different geographical regions and relative wealth quintiles. METHODS: We estimated the effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child health f…
Exploring the relationship between anticipated stigma and community shared concerns about HIV on defaulting from HIV care in rural South Africa
In this sample, we found limited impact of reducing anticipated stigma and increasing shared concern about HIV on retention in care. Future studies should consider the limitations of this study by examining the influence of other sources of stigma in more detail and assessing how perceptions of stigma and concern impact the full HIV testing and care cascade
Intimate partner violence is associated with cytomegalovirus among young women in rural South Africa
Stressful life circumstances (e.g. violence and poverty) have been associated with elevated biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1), among older adults in high-income settings. Yet, it remains unknown whether these relationships exist among younger populations in resource-limited settings. We therefore utilised a cohort of 1,279 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) from the…
The impact of pensions on health and wellbeing in rural South Africa
Interviewer-driven Variability in Social Network Reporting
Social network analysis depends on how social ties to others are elicited during interviews, a process easily affected by respondent and interviewer behaviors. We investigate how the number of self-reported important social contacts varied within a single data collection round. Our data come from Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community (HAALSI), a comprehensive population-based survey of individuals aged 40 years …
Mobile phone use among patients and health workers to enhance primary healthcare
Mobile phones have the potential to improve access to healthcare information and services in low-resourced settings. This study investigated the use of mobile phones among patients with chronic diseases, pregnant women, and health workers to enhance primary healthcare in rural South Africa. Qualitative research was undertaken in Mpumalanga in 2014. Semi structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 113 patients and 43 health workers from sev…
HIV after 40 in rural South Africa
Let's Talk about Sex, Maybe
Researchers are often skeptical of sexual behavior surveys: Respondents may lie or forget details of their intimate lives, and interviewers may exercise authority in how they capture responses. We use data from a 2010-2011 cross-sectional sexual behavior survey in rural South Africa to explore who says what to whom about their sexual lives. Results show an effect of fieldworker age across outcomes: Respondents report "safer," more "responsible" s…
The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer on Multidimensional Deprivation of Young Women
Despite the growing popularity of multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis, its use to measure the impact of social protection programs remains scarce. Using primary data collected for the evaluation of HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 068, a randomized, conditional cash transfer intervention for young girls in South Africa that ran from 2011 to 2015, we construct an individual-level measure of multidimensional poverty, a major depar…
The Meaning of Health in Rural South Africa
This article examines the meaning of health among middle-aged and older adults in a rural South African setting, where 72 percent of adults aged 40 and over are living with a major chronic condition, and 81 percent report good or very good health. We draw on a unique mixed-methods dataset that includes a population-based survey with disease biomarkers (hypertension, diabetes, HIV), self-assessments of health including self-rated health, functiona…
Living Arrangements, Disability and Gender of Older Adults Among Rural South Africa
This study underscores the need to examine living arrangements and disability through a gendered lens, with particular attention to heterogeneity among multigenerational living arrangements. Some living arrangements may take a greater toll on older persons than others. Important policy implications for South Africa and other LMICs emerge among vibrant debates about the role of social welfare programs in improving the health of older individuals
Physical Function in an Aging Population in Rural South Africa
As the first HRS sister study undertaken in Africa, HAALSI adds vital information on population aging and health in the region. Continuing waves of HAALSI data will be a key resource for understanding differences in the complex processes of disability across LMIC contexts
Parenting in place
Migration research tends to treat childrearing as a secondary role for migrants. By prioritising the economic objectives of migration, most models present migrants as either delaying childbearing or, if they have young children, not living with them. However, migration has become increasingly feminised, the types of mobility more varied, while the returns to migration remain uncertain at best. At the same time, norms around childrearing are shift…
Making Sense of Troubled Livelihoods
When men and women cannot attain idealized gendered forms of economic provision and dependence, how do they make sense of this perceived failure? In this article, we posit that poor health narratives serve as a gendered tool to make sense of inadequate livelihoods, even when that inadequacy is attributable to structural conditions. We draw on survey and life-history interview data from middle-aged and older rural South Africans. The survey data s…
Impairment in Activities of Daily Living, Care Receipt, and Unmet Needs in a Middle-Aged and Older Rural South African Population
Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyze the degree to which care needs are met in an aging rural African population. Method: Using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community (HAALSI) baseline survey, which interviewed 5,059 adults aged older than 40 years in rural South Africa, we assessed the levels of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and in unmet care for these ADLs, and ev…
Quality of integrated chronic disease care in rural South Africa
The integrated chronic disease management (ICDM) model was introduced as a response to the dual burden of HIV/AIDS and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa, one of the first of such efforts by an African Ministry of Health. The aim of the ICDM model is to leverage HIV programme innovations to improve the quality of chronic disease care. There is a dearth of literature on the perspectives of healthcare providers and users on the qualit…
Collective efficacy, alcohol outlet density, and young men’s alcohol use in rural South Africa
Alcohol use contributes to morbidity and mortality in developing countries by increasing the risk of trauma and disease, including alcohol dependence. Limited research addresses determinants of alcohol use beyond the individual level in sub-Saharan Africa. We test the association of community collective efficacy and alcohol outlet density with young men's drinking in a cross-sectional, locally representative survey conducted in rural northeast So…
Understanding Household Dynamics From the Ground Up
Investigations into household structure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide important insight into how families manage domestic life in response to resource allocation and caregiving needs during periods of rapid sociopolitical and health-related challenges. Recent evidence on household structure in many LMICs contrasts with long-standing viewpoints of worldwide convergence to a Western nuclearized household model. Here, we adopt …
Clusters of HIV Risk and Protective Sexual Behaviors in Agincourt, Rural South Africa
Research into health, population and social transitions in rural South Africa
Rationale for study: Vital registration is generally lacking in infrastructurally weak areas where health and development problems are most pressing. Health and demographic surveillance is a response to the lack of a valid information base that can provide high-quality longitudinal data on population dynamics, health, and social change to inform policy and practice. Design and measurement procedures: Continuous demographic monitoring of an entire…
Assessing health and well-being among older people in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: The population in developing countries is ageing, which is likely to increase the burden of non-communicable diseases and disability. OBJECTIVE: To describe factors associated with self-reported health, disability and quality of life (QoL) of older people in the rural northeast of South Africa. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of 6,206 individuals aged 50 and over. We used multivariate analysis to examine relationships between demograph…
Health inequalities among older men and women in Africa and Asia
BACKGROUND: Declining rates of fertility and mortality are driving demographic transition in all regions of the world, leading to global population ageing and consequently changing patterns of global morbidity and mortality. Understanding sex-related health differences, recognising groups at risk of poor health and identifying determinants of poor health are therefore very important for both improving health trajectories and planning for the heal…
Ageing and adult health status in eight lower-income countries
BACKGROUND: Globally, ageing impacts all countries, with a majority of older persons residing in lower- and middle-income countries now and into the future. An understanding of the health and well-being of these ageing populations is important for policy and planning; however, research on ageing and adult health that informs policy predominantly comes from higher-income countries. A collaboration between the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult h…
The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity, and metabolic disease risk in rural South African children
The study highlights that in transitional societies, early stunting and adolescent obesity may co-exist in the same socio-geographic population. It is likely that this profile relates to changes in nutrition and diet, but variation in factors such as infectious disease burden and physical activity patterns, as well as social influences, need to be investigated. As obesity and adult short stature are risk factors for metabolic syndrome and Type 2 …
Data Resource Profile
Population ageing is rapidly becoming a global issue and will have a major impact on health policies and programmes. The World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) aims to address the gap in reliable data and scientific knowledge on ageing and health in low- and middle-income countries. SAGE is a longitudinal study with nationally representative samples of persons aged 50+ years in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russ…
Profile
The Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system (HDSS), located in rural northeast South Africa close to the Mozambique border, was established in 1992 to support district health systems development led by the post-apartheid ministry of health. The HDSS (90 000 people), based on an annual update of resident status and vital events, now supports multiple investigations into the causes and consequences of complex health, population a…
PS09 Sleep Problems
Background Several studies have reported downward trends in the average duration of sleep and an increasingly higher prevalence of sleep problems across different Western populations. However, the evidence from low-income countries is limited. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the prevalence of sleep problems and associated factors in low-income settings. Methods Community-wide samples were taken from eight countries across Africa and…
The impact of pensions on health and wellbeing in rural South Africa
Retracted
BACKGROUND: South Africa is experiencing a demographic and epidemiological transition with an increase in population aged 50 years and older and rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases. This, coupled with high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence, puts an already weak health service under greater strain. OBJECTIVE: To measure self-reported chronic health conditions and chronic disease risk factors, including smoking and alcohol use, and to esta…
Use of anchoring vignettes to evaluate health reporting behavior amongst adults aged 50 years and above in Africa and Asia – testing assumptions
BACKGROUND: Comparing self-rating health responses across individuals and cultures is misleading due to different reporting behaviors. Anchoring vignettes is a technique that allows identifying and adjusting self-rating responses for reporting heterogeneity (RH). OBJECTIVE: This article aims to test two crucial assumptions of vignette equivalence (VE) and response consistency (RC) that are required to be met before vignettes can be used to adjust…
Prevalence of HIV among those 15 and older in rural South Africa
A greater knowledge of the burden of HIV in rural areas of Southern Africa is needed, especially among older adults. We conducted a cross-sectional biomarker survey in the rural South African Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance site in 2010-2011 and estimated HIV prevalence and risk factors. Using an age-sex stratified random sample of ages 15+, a total of 5037 (65.7%) of a possible 7662 individuals were located and 4362 (86.6%) c…
Determinants of the risk of dying of HIV/Aids in a rural South African community over the period of the decentralised roll-out of antiretroviral therapy
BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) has significantly reduced HIV mortality in South Africa. The benefits have not been experienced by all groups. Here we investigate the factors associated with these inequities. DESIGN: This study was located in a rural South African setting and used data collected from 2007 to 2010, the period when decentralised ART became available. Approximately one-third of the population were of Mozambican origin. Th…
Predictors of health care use by adults 50 years and over in a rural South African setting
BACKGROUND: South Africa's epidemiological transition is characterised by an increasing burden of chronic communicable and non-communicable diseases. However, little is known about predictors of health care use (HCU) for the prevention and control of chronic diseases among older adults. OBJECTIVE: To describe reported health problems and determine predictors of HCU by adults aged 50+ living in a rural sub-district of South Africa. DESIGN: A cross…
HIV/Aids-related mortality in Africa and Asia
BACKGROUND: As the HIV/AIDS pandemic has evolved over recent decades, Africa has been the most affected region, even though a large proportion of HIV/AIDS deaths have not been documented at the individual level. Systematic application of verbal autopsy (VA) methods in defined populations provides an opportunity to assess the mortality burden of the pandemic from individual data. OBJECTIVE: To present standardised comparisons of HIV/AIDS-related m…
Two decades of mortality change in rural northeast South Africa
BACKGROUND: The MRC/Wits University Agincourt research centre, part of the INDEPTH Network, has documented mortality in a defined population in the rural northeast of South Africa for 20 years (1992-2011) using long-term health and socio-demographic surveillance. Detail on the unfolding, at times unpredicted, mortality pattern has been published. This experience is reviewed here and updated using more recent data. OBJECTIVE: To present a review a…
Adult non-communicable disease mortality in Africa and Asia
BACKGROUND: Mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major global issue, as other categories of mortality have diminished and life expectancy has increased. The World Health Organization's Member States have called for a 25% reduction in premature NCD mortality by 2025, which can only be achieved by substantial reductions in risk factors and improvements in the management of chronic conditions. A high burden of NCD mortality among muc…
Malaria mortality in Africa and Asia
BACKGROUND: Malaria continues to be a major cause of infectious disease mortality in tropical regions. However, deaths from malaria are most often not individually documented, and as a result overall understanding of malaria epidemiology is inadequate. INDEPTH Network members maintain population surveillance in Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites across Africa and Asia, in which individual deaths are followed up with verbal autopsies…
Who Benefits—Or Does not—From South Africa’s Old Age Pension? Evidence from Characteristics of Rural Pensioners and Non-Pensioners
Social protection grants play a critical role in survival and livelihoods of elderly individuals in South Africa. Rarely is it possible to assess how well a social program reaches its target population. Using a 2010 survey and Agincourt Health Demographic Surveillance System census data we conduct multivariate logistic regression to predict pension receipt in rural South Africa. We find only 80% of age-eligible individuals report pension receipt.…
Cardiometabolic disease risk and HIV status in rural South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing intersecting epidemics of HIV and hypertension. In this setting, around half the adult population require long-term care for at least one of HIV, hypertension or diabetes. Together with the adverse effects that HIV and its treatment have on lipids, this may have serious implications for the South African health care system. Monitoring of the interaction of HIV, ART use, and cardiometabolic disease is needed at both in…
A cluster randomized-controlled trial of a community mobilization intervention to change gender norms and reduce HIV risk in rural South Africa
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02129530
Collective efficacy, alcohol outlet density, and young men’s alcohol use in rural South Africa
Alcohol use contributes to morbidity and mortality in developing countries by increasing the risk of trauma and disease, including alcohol dependence. Limited research addresses determinants of alcohol use beyond the individual level in sub-Saharan Africa. We test the association of community collective efficacy and alcohol outlet density with young men's drinking in a cross-sectional, locally representative survey conducted in rural northeast So…
HIV after 40 in rural South Africa
The effect of a conditional cash transfer on HIV incidence in young women in rural South Africa (HPTN 068)
BACKGROUND: Cash transfers have been proposed as an intervention to reduce HIV-infection risk for young women in sub-Saharan Africa. However, scarce evidence is available about their effect on reducing HIV acquisition. We aimed to assess the effect of a conditional cash transfer on HIV incidence among young women in rural South Africa. METHODS: We did a phase 3, randomised controlled trial (HPTN 068) in the rural Bushbuckridge subdistrict in Mpum…
Premarital Births and Union Formation in Rural South Africa
CONTEXT: In rural South Africa, women often delay union formation until they are in their late 20s, though premarital first births are common. METHODS: Longitudinal data from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System in rural South Africa were used to examine the relationship between premarital birth and union entry among 55,158 nonmigrant women aged 10-35 who took part in at least one annual census from 1993 to 2012. Discret…
Medicine (106 obras) · Environmental health (74 obras) · Demography (71 obras) · Population (59 obras) · Gerontology (54 obras) · Public health (47 obras) · Psychology (46 obras) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (44 obras) · Demography (40 obras) · Sociology (38 obras)