Knowledge, beliefs and practices towards HIV/AIDS among adolescents in India: A scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major health concern among Indian adolescents (10–19 years). Indian adolescents lack adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS and adopt wrong practices. The present scoping review aims to understand the status of knowledge, beliefs and practices among Indian adolescents about HIV or HIV/AIDS. The present study will also focus on their understanding and the source of knowledge and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. Methodology The recommendations of Arksey and O’Malley in 2005, Levac et al. in 2010 and The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ manual in 2015 to conduct a systematic scoping review will be employed. The review questions, eligibility criteria and search strategy for this study will be ensured by the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) strategy. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will be used for reporting of this scoping review. The methodological quality of all the relevant studies will be assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), Version- 2018. Literature search will be carried out by using electronic databases such as PubMed, APA PsycInfo, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Cross-references will be used to extract additional studies. Ethics and dissemination As the planned study is based on secondary data and doesn’t involve human and animal subjects, there is no requirement for formal ethical approval. Strengths and limitations of the study The planned scoping review is the first of such study on the topic of HIV/AIDS among adolescent population in India as per the electronically available literature. There will be quality assessment of all the included studies. A thorough search strategy will be conducted as per the recommendations of the experts in scoping review search. On limitation side, the planned study will only utilize electronically available resources/evidences that are written in English language. The planned evidence based study will be of much help for the healthcare professionals and policy makers.

Awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS in school going children of Surat, Gujarat

“…Education is given more importance in the fight against HIV/AIDS as school-going children and young adolescents are still forming their beliefs and the prevalence of the disease is incredibly low, thus instilling good practices in them would lead to a population which has higher knowledge and awareness. 16 As our study population includes school-going children, it is expected that they are receiving a basic level of education in their science classes. This helps us to determine the effectiveness of present education systems and we can suggest necessary changes.…”

Vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) / Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among adolescent girls and young women in India: A rapid review

“…There has been limited research on adolescent and young populations/non-key populations and their vulnerability to HIV risks. To the best of our knowledge, no other literature reviews are available on this topic except a study protocol published by Patsani et al [ 14 ].…”

Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS and its prevention among high school students of Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, India: a pre-experimental study

“…6 A previous study reported that India has the highest number of adolescent HIV infections in Southeast Asia, which is really a cause for concern. 7 Adolescence is a transition phase from being a child to becoming an adult. And due to this, they require the utmost care and attention from both parents and society.…”