Bulstra CA, Hontelez JAC, Otto M, et al. - The existing scientific evidence on the impact of service integration on the HIV care cascade outcomes (testing, linkage to care, treatment initiation, treatment adherence, retention, and viral suppression), HIV health outcomes (new infections and mortality), and cost-effectiveness, are synthesized systematically and comprehensively.

• In many countries and communities, a large achievement in the rapid scale-up of HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) over the past 2 decades has been observed with stand-alone HIV programs.

• People living with HIV are identified to experience more comorbidities due to their increasing life expectancy and the side effects of ART; this suggests that ART programs that also provide other treatments could improve both healthcare effectiveness and the patient experience.

• For integration of services, other reasons include the hope that joint delivery of services will enhance coverage and reduce costs.

• Researchers conducted a systematic review identifying 114 studies, most outcomes in which were better in integrated compared with separate services.

• Per outcomes, improvement in health and health systems outcomes may be achieved by integrating HIV services and other health services.