Abstract
BackgroundAlcohol use is a challenging problem which attributes to more than 5% of the overall global burden of disease. It is more common among persons with HIV infection than the general population. Although there are separate studies regarding people with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, their results are highly variable and discrepant. The objectives of this study will be to evaluate the prevalence of alcohol use and to identify its associated factors among people with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia.MethodsA systematic search of electronic databases (from inception onwards) of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library will be conducted. Moreover, grey literatures will be searched from different sources (such as Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and World Health Organization websites). Reference lists of the selected articles will also be searched manually. Observational studies (cross-sectional, case-control, cohort) reporting the prevalence of alcohol use and/or its associated factors among adults with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia will be included. The primary outcomes will be the prevalence of alcohol use among HIV/AIDS population. Secondary outcomes will be the determinants of alcohol use described in the included studies. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations and full-text articles and extract data. The studies’ methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using an appropriate tool. If feasible, we will conduct a random effects meta-analysis of observational data. Heterogeneity of primary studies will be assessed using the I2 test. Prevalence estimates will be stratified according to gender, age, and geographical location. Small-study effects (publication bias) also will be examined.DiscussionOur systematic review and meta-analysis will prevail the pooled prevalence of alcohol use and its determinants among people with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The finding of this study will be helpful to design appropriate preventive and interventional strategies for alcohol use among people with HIV/AIDS. This can have direct or indirect policy responses and clinical implications.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42019132524
Highlights
Alcohol use is a challenging problem which attributes to more than 5% of the overall global burden of disease
Some studies showed that medication nonadherence, psychological distress, poor quality of life, family history of alcohol or other substance use, poor coping skills to accept human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive serostatus, and poor social support can contribute to harmful alcohol consumption among people living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) [8,9,10,11]
Outcomes of interest The primary outcome will be the prevalence of alcohol use indicating the number of HIV/AIDS people that consume alcohol divided by the HIV/AIDS adult population number at a given point in time
Summary
This study protocol is being reported in accordance with the reporting guidance provided in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement [20, 21] (see Additional file 1). Study design Observational studies (cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies) reporting the prevalence and/or associated factors of alcohol use among adults with HIV/AIDS will be included. Outcomes of interest The primary outcome will be the prevalence of alcohol use indicating the number of HIV/AIDS people that consume alcohol divided by the HIV/AIDS adult population number at a given point in time. This is often presented as a prevalence (proportion). Study characteristics The following are the study characteristics: name of the first author, study design, year of publication, journal, year (or period) of study conduct, sample size, setting, geographical location where the study is conducted, and other fields to capture data relevant to the assessment of study methodological quality. Small study effects (publication bias across studies) will be assessed by inspection of the funnel plots for asymmetry and Egger’s test [28,29,30], with the results considered to indicate potential small study effects when p values are < 0.10
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