Availability, acceptability and adoption of decision aids for HIV prevention and contraception for young people a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION: Young people face challenges in accessing information on HIV and sexual and reproductive health services, with corresponding suboptimal uptake. Decision aids can provide information and decisional support to improve young people's engagement with health interventions. However, they have not been widely implemented among young people. The availability of different choices for HIV and pregnancy prevention means that it is important to implement interventions that facilitate informed choices for these methods. We describe a protocol for a scoping review that aims to explore the availability, acceptability and use of decision aids for HIV prevention and contraception for young people. 

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will identify relevant studies from the following electronic databases from inception to current date: PubMed, Scopus and Global Health; and grey literature databases, namely medRxiv and Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Eligible studies will report on HIV prevention and/or contraception decision aids and be written in English. Data extraction will be done by two reviewers independently using templates, with discrepancies resolved by consensus. Analysis will be done narratively, and separate for HIV prevention and contraception decision aids. Analysis will also include determination of the suitability of each decision aid for use by young people aged 15-24 years. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews will be employed to present results. 

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review does not require ethics approval. The findings from this work will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local and international conferences.