Artificial Intelligence in the HIV Care Cascade with a Focus on Translational Maturity: a scoping review

This project consists of a scoping review that aims to systematically map and characterize applications of artificial intelligence (AI) across the HIV care cascade, with a specific focus on their stages of translational maturity and on reported barriers and facilitators to implementation. Although AI has been increasingly applied to HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment monitoring, retention in care, and public health surveillance, most applications remain concentrated in early stages of development, and there is limited synthesis regarding their progression toward real-world clinical or programmatic use. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and reported following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Using a comprehensive search strategy across multiple bibliographic databases, the review will identify primary studies describing AI-based applications related to HIV care. Included studies will be systematically classified according to predefined stages of translational maturity, ranging from computational development and validation to pilot testing and implementation in clinical or public health settings. In addition to mapping the types of AI applications and their position along the HIV care cascade, this review will synthesize reported outcomes, contexts of application, and key barriers and facilitators influencing translation and implementation. By organizing the existing evidence through a translational lens, this project aims to identify gaps in the literature and generate insights to inform future research, implementation strategies, and policy discussions on the responsible and effective integration of AI into HIV care and public health practice.