Abstract
BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to be a major public health issue, especially in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Literature shows significant HIV status awareness, testing, and treatment have generally improved among the population since the inception of the UNAIDS 90:90:90 programme. Despite this, it is possible literature gaps exist that require future research to inform in-country programmes to improve the gains post-UNAIDS 90:90:90 programme. This study, therefore, aims to synthesize literature and describe the evidence on HIV status awareness among key and vulnerable populations in SSA focusing on the first UNAIDS 90 since it is essential for treatment initiation.MethodThis systematic scoping review will be guided by the framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley and improved by Levac and colleagues. Literature searches will be conducted in PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Science Direct from 2016 to 2020. A snowball approach will also be used to search for relevant articles from the reference of all included studies. This study will include both published and grey literature, articles that include HIV key and vulnerable populations, HIV status awareness, and evidence from SSA countries. Two reviewers will independently conduct the abstract and full-text article screening as well as pilot the data extraction form. Thematic content analysis and a summary of the themes and sub-themes will be reported narratively.DiscussionsThe evidence that will be provided by this study may be useful to inform in-country programmes to improve the gains made post-UNAIDS 90:90:90 programme from 2021 onwards. This study also anticipates identifying literature gaps to guide researchers interested in this field of study in the future. Peer review journals, policy briefs, and conference platforms will be used to disseminate this study’s findings.
Highlights
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to be a major public health issue, especially in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA)
Discussions: The evidence that will be provided by this study may be useful to inform in-country programmes to improve the gains made post-United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90:90:90 programme from 2021 onwards
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to be a major public health issue, in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) where more than two thirds (25.7 million) of the world’s estimated 39.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS live [1,2,3]
Summary
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to be a major public health issue, in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) where more than two thirds (25.7 million) of the world’s estimated 39.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS live [1,2,3]. Without addressing the needs of these key populations, a sustainable response to HIV will not be achieved [4] Populations such as adolescent girls and young women may be vulnerable to HIV infection since research has shown that more than 80% of the HIV-infected adolescents live in sub-Saharan Africa [5]. This study will aim to synthesize literature and describe the evidence on HIV status awareness among HIV key populations and vulnerable populations in SSA focusing on the first 90 of the UNAIDS 90:90:90 goals due to its relevance for treatment initiation. The evidence that will be provided by future researches may guide decisions towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as stipulated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3.3 [10]
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