Knowledge Gaps of STIs in Africa; Systematic review

Abstract

30Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are ambiguous burden of tremendous health, social and 31 economic consequences, The current systematic review was conducted in order to determine 32 awareness and knowledge of Africans of sexually transmitted infections, not only concerning 33 HIV/AIDS, but also other STIs such as, gonorrhea, syphilis, HBV, HCV and HPV. A systematic 34 review of the literature was conducted, studies were retrieved and selected after they fulfilled the 35 inclusion criteria and passed the assessment procedure. related data was extracted, quantitative 36 analysis was conducted among participants who responded to questions related to HIV, HBV, HCV, 37 HPV or STIs knowledge, sensitivity analysis as well as subgroup analysis were also conducted. 38 Seventy four articles addressing knowledge among 35 African countries were included and 136 39 questions were analyzed and synthesized. The question Using condom will reduce HIV 40 transmission?'' was answered by 1,799,374 Africans in 35 countries, 66.82% [95% Cl; 62.65, 70.98] 41 answered yes. While the question ''Is sexual contact a possible route of HBV transmission?'' was 42 answered by 7,490 participants in 5 countries; 42.58% [95% Cl; 20.45, 64.71] answered yes. The 43 differences observed among populations are highlighting the possibility for containment and control 44 by directing light toward specific populations or countries as well as addressing specific awareness 45 knowledge to ensure that the general as well as the related specific preventive awareness knowledge 46 is improved. 47 Introduction 50 Sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) are ambiguous burden of tremendous health, social and 51 economic consequences. Most of them are hidden because many people may feel stigmatized when 52 addressing them. Moreover, the committee on prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases 53 in USA estimated that the annual costs of selected major STDs are approximately $10 billion or, if 54 sexually transmitted HIV is included, $17 billion [1] . 55 According to UNAIDS; almost 37 million people globally were living with HIV in 2017, sub-Saharan 56 Africa accounted for 66% of the cases, 68% of new adult HIV infections, 92% of new infections in 57 children and 72% of all AIDS-related deaths. Earlier in 2009, Swaziland topped the world's HIV 3 58epidemic countries with a 26% prevalence among adults, while South Africa was the country with the 59 world's largest prevalence of people living with HIV as 5.6 million [2,3] . 60On the other hand and according to WHO; an estimated 257 million people are living with HBV 61 infection with the highest prevalence in the Western Pacific Region and the African Region as 6.2% 62 and 6.1% of the adult population are infected, respectively. About 1% of persons living with HBV 63 infection (2.7 million people) are also infected with HIV. Moreover, approximately 399,000 people 64 89 exception was if the collection process continued months/years earlier than 2010 and ended in 2010 or 90 afterwards. The keyw...

Uptake of and factors associated with testing for sexually transmitted infections in community-based settings among youth in Zimbabwe: a mixed-methods study

“… 8 Although young people are regularly exposed to information about HIV through school programmes and media campaigns, much less attention has been paid to curable STIs. 21 , 22 , 23 We found low levels of knowledge about STI risks, symptoms, and complications, a finding also reported by other studies from sub-Saharan Africa. 24 This has implications for uptake of STI testing as individuals who are asymptomatic might not realise they are infected and could decline testing.…”

Trends and correlates of sexually transmitted infections among sexually active Ugandan female youths: evidence from three demographic and health surveys, 2006–2016

“…Moreover, STIs acquired from regular partners account for up to 70% of the burden of female infertility [13]. Through several evidence-based strategies, such as ensuring community awareness on risks, prevention strategies, and treatment of STIs, this high burden of STIs and their effects are largely preventable [2,4,14].…”

Trends and correlates of sexually transmitted infections among sexually active Ugandan female youths: evidence from three demographic and health surveys, 2006-2016

“…(13)Through several evidencebased strategies, such as ensuring community awareness on risks, prevention strategies, and treatment of STIs, this high burden of STIs and their effects are largely preventable. (2,4,14) The major components of Uganda's current strategy on STI /HIV management include primary prevention strategies such as vaccination for Human papillomavirus and Hepatitis B, male circumcision, and behavioral change communication. Syndromic management, which involves the use of signs and symptoms rather than laboratory tests is also used to guide the treatment of STIs.…”