Geospatial Approaches to HIV Care: a Scoping Review of Asset Mapping

Asset mapping aims to engage members of a community to explore and map assets that are solutions to social issues such as homelessness or access to health care. The purpose of this scoping review was to determine the scope of asset mapping as an approach to HIV care cascade outcomes, synthesize available evidence on this method's application in research, and identify opportunities for future interventions and research based in this methodology. This scoping review follows the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Databases used were: PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Scopus. Only articles featuring studies targeting the HIV care cascade were included. Our focus was studies that explored, described, or mapped tangible or intangible assets, employed a strengths-based approach, and addressed capacity to develop solutions. Several researchers independently reviewed all abstracts and full text articles.

A total of 305 articles were found. After removal of duplicates, 207 articles remained. From the title and abstract review, 189 articles (91%) were excluded, leaving 18 studies to be assessed for inclusion. Of these, 10 studies were included. Five studies intentionally conducted asset mapping and 5 were not intentional but results revealed assets. Tangible assets included churches, transportation routes, libraries, and parks. Intangible assets included strengthening health routines, self-reflection, social relationships, and community engagement. Future research should shift to methods that identify strengths and assets of communities affected by HIV and AIDS.