Tom Smekens

Biographic Data

ID7732125
NAMETom Smekens
GIVEN NAMESTom
FAMILY NAMESmekens
SIGNATURESMEKENS T
AFFILIATIONSInstituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
ORCID0000-0002-3599-1719
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS7
TOTAL CITATIONS0
WORKS AS AUTHOR7
WORKS AS EDITOR0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2018
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX0

  • Determinants of quality of life in people living with HIV and changes over time

    Gert Scheerder, Ella Van Landeghem et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2026

    With HIV evolving into a chronic disease, attention is shifting to quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV (PLWH). We analyzed monitoring data on QoL of PLWH followed up at the Antwerp HIV clinic between 2016-2023, using the WHO-QOL-HIV BREF. Using logistic regression, we analyzed associations of QoL after adjusting for covariates. Changes in QoL across repeated measurements were calculated for a standardized period (mean change score per…

  • Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use trajectories and incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among PrEP users in Belgium

    Open AccessAnke Rotsaert, Tom Smekens et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2024

    The study highlights challenges in PrEP persistence and a high incidence of bacterial STIs among individuals receiving PrEP. Tailored prevention support is crucial for individuals with ongoing HIV risk to optimise PrEP effectiveness. Integrated STI testing and prevention interventions within PrEP care are necessary to mitigate STI acquisition and transmission among PrEP users

  • Patterns of PrEP and condom use among PrEP users in Belgium

    Open AccessAnke Rotsaert, Tom Smekens et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023

    Our findings show that there is little variation in PrEP use over time and that PrEP use was associated with sexual behaviours, which could be taken into account when designing tailored PrEP care

  • Understanding Malaria Persistence

    Open AccessThuan Thi Nguyen, Charlotte Gryseels et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2021

    Despite the scale-up of vector control, diagnosis and treatment, and health information campaigns, malaria persists in the forested areas of South-Central Vietnam, home to ethnic minority populations. A mixed-methods study using an exploratory sequential design was conducted in 10 Ra-glai villages in Bac Ai district of Ninh Thuan province to examine which social factors limited the effectiveness of the national malaria elimination strategy in the…

  • Inequity in uptake of hospital-based childbirth care in rural Tanzania

    Open AccessManuela Straneo, Lenka Beňová et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2021

    Proportions of facility births are increasing throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but obstetric services vary within the health system. In Tanzania, advanced management of childbirth complications (comprehensive emergency obstetric care) is offered in hospitals, while in frontline, primary health care (PHC) facilities (health centres and dispensaries) mostly only routine childbirth care is available. With over half (54%) of rural births in facilities,…

  • Drug use, depression and sexual risk behaviour

    Christiana Nöstlinger, Thijs Reyniers et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2020

    Little is known about how interacting psychosocial problems may influence sexual behaviour among men having sex with men taking Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This study assessed (1) the prevalence of depression, recreational drug-use and sexual risk behaviour; (2) changes in these psychosocial conditions over time; and (3) the interaction of drug use and depression with sexual risk behaviour. We analysed data of the Belgian Be-PrEP-ared cohort…

  • Factors Influencing the Risk of Becoming Sexually Active Among HIV Infected Adolescents in Kampala and Kisumu, East Africa

    Open AccessSabrina Bakeera-Kitaka, Tom Smekens et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2018