Background In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care, key populations are sex workers, people who inject drugs, prisoners, transgender people, and men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at high risk and burden of HIV infection but face barriers to HIV prevention, treatment, and health services. HIV self-testing (HIVST) is effective in scaling up HIV testing uptake among key populations due to its cost-effective, confidential, and convenient feature. However, lacking linkage to care support remains a key challenge. This scoping synthesised the global evidence regarding implementing strategies to promote linkage to care for key populations after HIVST. Methods This scoping review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis. A data search was conducted on September 1, 2021. The searched databases were PubMed, Embase, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, Wan Fang Data (Chinese), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (Chinese), and Japan Medical Abstracts Society (Japanese). Results Twenty studies from 2011 records met the eligibility criteria and were included for review. The study populations were MSM (9), mixed high-risk populations (7), female sex workers (3), and transgender youth (1). Implementation strategies to promote linkage to care for key populations after HIVST were classified into seven categories: 1) HIVST kits with linkage-to-care information, 2) web-based or mobile app-guided HIVST, 3) remote HIVST counselling, 4) intensive follow-up, 5) HIVST promotion through social media and key opinion leaders, 6) community engagement in HIVST and 7) financial incentive. The digital-supported intervention mainly targeted MSM in high-income settings, and the community-based approach and financial incentive strategies were mainly implemented in low and middle-income settings. Comparison of linkage outcomes between studies is problematic due to mixed interpretation and measurement of linkage to care after HIVST. Conclusions Implementation strategies to promote linkage to care for key populations are diverse and should be incorporated in different settings and backgrounds. Innovative digital-supported HIVST research for female sex workers and high-risk populations in low and middle-income settings is warranted. A standardised definition of linkage to care following HIVST and a unified measurement of linkage outcomes should be developed and applied in future research.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced changes in our lifestyles and affected the relationships between father and infant. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with father-infant bonding during the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan. This study was a cross-sectional study using a nationwide online survey data. The Japanese version of the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) was used for father-infant bonding. The study participants were divided into two groups depending on their partners’ parity. A linear regression model (Gauss-Markov-type) was used for the two groups. A total of 1,055 men were included in the analysis. Of these men, 521 (49.4%) had a partner who was primipara, and 534 (50.6%) had a partner who was multipara. No significant differences were found between the two groups for MIBS-J scores. The fathers’ mental health, relationship with the partner and family members, abusive behavior towards children, wanted pregnancy, and admission history to NICU for the youngest child were associated with father-infant bonding. As for factors related to Covid-19, caring for the child while the partner is at home has a negative impact on bonding, while fear related to infection with Covid-19 has no negative impact on the bonding.

The purpose of this study is to review intervention studies on preconception care for women in order to clarify the effectiveness of interventions and outcome measures, and thereby open doors to further investigations that will contribute to the advancement of research in the field of preconception care in Japan. MethodsPubMed, Cochrane Library / CENTRAL, EMBASE, and the NPO Japan Medical Abstracts Society database (Ichushi-Web) were searched in October 2020 to gather relevant studies in order to outline the main concepts and evidence underlying health behavior changes of preconception care in women. ResultsFrom the results of this study, 38 overseas studies, and three studies in Japan were retrieved. In terms of the range of effects of interventions/ programs, the overseas studies included the following 10 areas: 1. nutrition and diet, 2. knowledge of fertility and health, 3. contraceptive methods, 4. physical activity, 5. physical and physiological indicators, 6. prevention of alcohol and tobacco exposure pregnancy, 7. folic acid supplementation, 8. mental and psychological changes, 9. pregnancy, childbirth, and birth outcomes, and 10. other areas. In the domestic studies, four areas were categorized: 1. knowledge about health and preconception care, 2. awareness related to preconception care, 3. nutrition and diet, and 4. other areas. ConclusionThis scoping review revealed that research on preconception care in Japan is limited only to the areas of knowledge, awareness, and nutrition related to preconception care. As there is still limited research on this topic, this study suggests that certain areas of research that are lacking should be investigated. In particular, further studies on folic acid supplementation in preconception, physical activity, prevention of alcohol and tobacco exposure pregnancy, mental and psychological changes, physical and physiological indicators, and pregnancy and birth outcomes were suggested.