Background: Young people living with HIV(YPLWH) in low-and middle-income countries are entering adolescence and young adulthood in significant numbers. The majority of the HIV-related research on these young people has focused on clinical outcomes with less emphasis on their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). There is an increasing awareness of the importance of understanding and addressing their SRH needs, as many are at elevated risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners and young women, in particular, are at significant risk for transmitting HIV to their infants. The purpose of this scoping review is to synthesize research investigating the SRH needs of young people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries.
Methods: We searched electronic databases for studies focusing on young people aged 10-24 years and 27 studies met inclusion criteria.
Results: This review identified four themes characterizing research on SRH among young people living with HIV: knowledge of SRH, access to SRH services, sexual practices, and future family planning and childrearing.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest a need for additional research on comprehensive sexuality education to equip YPLWH with knowledge to facilitate desirable SRH outcomes, interventions on sero-status disclosure and condom use, and health provider capacity to provide SRH services in their pre-existing HIV clinical care.
Keywords: HIV; LMICs; Sexual and reproductive health; Young people.
Young people living with HIV(YPLWH) in low-and middle-income countries are entering adolescence and young adulthood in large numbers. The majority of the HIV-related research on these young people has focused on clinical outcomes with less emphasis on their sexual and reproductive health. It is important to understand and address their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs, as many are at a high risk of passing on HIV to their sexual partners and young women, in particular, are at significant risk for passing on HIV to their infants. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize research examining the SRH needs of young people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries. We searched online databases for studies focusing on young aged 10–24 years and 27 studies were included in the review. This review identified four themes characterizing research on SRH among young people living with HIV: knowledge of SRH, access to SRH services, sexual practices, and future family planning and childrearing. Our findings suggest a need for additional research on comprehensive sexuality education to equip YPLWH with knowledge to facilitate desirable SRH outcomes, interventions on sero-status disclosure and condom use, and health provider capacity to provide SRH services in their pre-existing HIV clinical care.
© 2021. The Author(s).