Bridging the Efficacy–Effectiveness Gap in HIV Programs: Lessons From Economics

BACKGROUND: Bridging the efficacy-effectiveness gap in HIV prevention and treatment requires policies that account for human behavior. SETTING: Worldwide. METHODS: We conducted a narrative review of the literature on HIV in the field of economics, identified common themes within the literature, and identified lessons for implementation science. RESULTS: The reviewed studies illustrate how behaviors are shaped by perceived costs and benefits across a wide range of health and nonhealth domains, how structural constraints shape decision-making, how information interventions can still be effective in the epidemic's fourth decade, and how lessons from behavioral economics can be used to improve intervention effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Economics provides theoretical insights and empirical methods that can guide HIV implementation science.