Youth engagement in HIV prevention intervention research in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Youth engagement in HIV research is generally recognized as essential, but often neglected or minimally implemented in practice. Engagement is a process of working collaboratively with diverse groups of people to address common issues. We conducted a scoping review of youth HIV prevention interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to identify and categorize forms and levels of youth engagement across the lifespan of intervention research. METHODS: We followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework for organizing a scoping review. We searched seven databases for related articles on identified intervention studies through May 28th 2020. Included studies focused on youth (10 to 24 years old) HIV prevention interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Two reviewers independently examined citations and full manuscripts for inclusion. Data were extracted on study characteristics, location, description of youth engagement and extent of engagement. Youth engagement approaches were categorized based on Hart's ladder as substantial engagement (strong youth decision-making power), moderate engagement (shared decision making with adults), minimal engagement (no youth decision-making power) or no engagement. RESULTS: We identified 3149 citations and included 112 studies reporting on 74 unique HIV interventions. Twenty-two interventions were in low-income countries, 49 in middle-income countries, and three were in both. Overall, only nine interventions (12%) had substantial or moderate youth engagement, two-thirds (48, 65%) had minimal youth engagement and 17 interventions (23%) had no youth engagement. We also identified specific engagement strategies (e.g. youth-led research, crowdsourcing) that were feasible in multiple settings and resulted in substantial engagement. CONCLUSIONS: We found limited youth engagement in youth HIV prevention intervention studies in sub-Saharan Africa. However, several activities resulted in substantial youth engagement and could be relevant in many low-and-middle-income-country (LMIC) settings

PrEP4Youth : amplifying awareness and willingness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria

This study has two aims: Aim 1: To examine the environment, population characteristics, and health behaviors associated with awareness and willingness to use PrEP among AYA 14 – 24 years in Nigeria; Aim 2: To examine the association between psychological factors (resilience, future orientation, and self-efficacy) and willingness to use PrEP among AYA 14 – 24 years in Nigeria. The aims of this study were informed by the review of previous PrEP studies

Prevalence of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in two Tuberculosis treatment clinics in Lagos, Nigeria: a prospective longitudinal study

International audienceAbstract Background Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an underrecognized but common complication of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). In Nigeria, a TB-endemic country, there is currently no provision to monitor the development of CPA in patients treated for TB. This study determined the prevalence and incidence of CPA in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods A prospective longitudinal study of patients previously managed for TB was conducted between June 2021 and May 2022. The study cohorts were assessed at three monthly intervals with the following parameters collected: sociodemographic data, chest x-ray findings, sputum for fungal culture, and venous blood for Aspergillus IgG estimation. CPA cases were determined using the case definition for resource-constrained countries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed and significance was set at a probability of 5% (p<0.05). Results Of 141 patients recruited, 79 (56.0%) belonged to retreatment TB and 62 (44.0%) were post-TB treated patients. The median (interquartile range) age was 40 (30-52) years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.1:1. Ninety-seven patients (69%) had a GeneXpert test done, of which, 63/97 (64.9%) were GeneXpert negative. Cough was the commonest symptom, with 15 (11%) having haemoptysis. The rate of CPA increased steadily as the study progressed: 44 (31.2%) at commencement, 45 (34.9%) at three months, 49 (42.6%) at six months, and 51 (54.3%) at nine months. Thus, the overall prevalence of CPA was 49.7% and the incidence was 6.1%. Conclusion CPA is common in Nigeria and its true burden may still be underestimated. Increased awareness of CPA as a post-TB lung disease is advocated. Evaluation for CPA should be incorporated in patients’ work-up for T