Viral Load Suppression Associated With Undisclosed HIV Status Among Adolescents Aged 10 to 19 Years Living With HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND

HIV and AIDS remain a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and are particularly prevalent in children and adolescents. The prevalence of undisclosed HIV status among adolescents is also a challenge worldwide.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping systematic review aims to synthesize the existing literature to address viral load suppression among adolescents living with HIV who have not disclosed their HIV status in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect from 2010 to 2024 will be conducted. This review will conduct evidence synthesis from the published literature on a research question regarding viral load suppression associated with undisclosed HIV status among adolescents living with HIV. The population, concept, and context framework was considered more useful in guiding this study. A random sample of 12 articles will be assigned to the 2 reviewers to pretest the data extraction tool.

RESULTS

The initial search was conducted for articles published from March 1, 2010, to December 31, 2024, and 3174 articles were returned in total. After deduplication, of the 3174 articles, 1147 (36.14%) abstracts were reviewed, and 98 (3.09%) articles have been included in full-text review. Most of the results indicated that disclosure of HIV status is positively associated with the holistic well-being of adolescents. Among adolescents, the provision of social and psychological spaces helps them vent problems, whereas behavior change interventions are essential to reduce the likelihood of unsuppressed viral load and the risk of HIV transmission among adolescents in the context of antiretroviral therapy education and counseling.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings will be key in informing practices, programs, and decision-making for the integration of services for adolescents living with HIV to address the issue of HIV disclosure for the achievement of viral load suppression.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/75838.