Demand and supply of adolescent and young adult’s sexual and reproductive health services during COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated containment strategies have significantly impacted the logistics of supplying sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to adolescents and young adults (AYA) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies conducted in the region indicate an increase in sexual activity, particularly among young people, during the pandemic. However, the impact of these changes on their utilization of SRH services remains unclear. This scoping review aims to synthesize the available evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on the SRH behavior and service utilization of AYA. This review focuses on examining the demand and supply of SRH for AYA during the COVID-19 lockdown period (January 2020 – December 2021). Following the Arksey & O’Malley (2005) procedure and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewer’s Manual (2020), the review encompasses comprehensive search strategies, analysis, and reporting of results. The search for relevant articles was conducted across various databases, including Medline Complete, Africa-Wide, SocINDEX, Academic Search Complete (all through EBSCOhost), Public Health, Social Science & Sociology databases, the Middle East & Africa Database (all through ProQuest), and Web of Science. Articles published between January 2020 and December 2021 were included in this review. The studies discussed in this review shed light on the discrepancies in the demand for and supply of SRH services during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing a substantial gap in addressing the specific SRH needs of AYA. This review also examines the strategies adopted by countries in SSA to mitigate these effects. Several countries in SSA demonstrated resilience as health providers fulfilled their role, while AYA sought alternatives to mitigate the shortage in the supply chain for SRH services and commodities, often resorting to alternative medicine. The findings underscore the urgency of further research to address the risks imposed by COVID-19 on the utilization of SRH services by AYA in SSA. The evidence presented in this review can inform strategic efforts to ensure the availability and accessibility of SRH services for AYA during any unforeseen emergency or future pandemic.
Adelekan, B., Goldson, E., Abubakar, Z., Mueller, U., Alayande, A., Ojogun, T., et al. (2021). Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on provision of sexual and reproductive health services in primary health facilities in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study. Reprod Health, 18(1): 166. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01217-5
AHB. (2020). Partnerships for COVID-19 in Africa: Manufacturing and Supply Chain. Available from: https://www.ahb.co.ke/ partnerships-for-covid-19-in-africa-manufacturing-and-supply-chain-2 [Last accessed on 2021 May 15].
Ahmed, Z., & Sonfield, A. (2020). The COVID-19 Outbreak: Potential Fallout for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. New York: Guttmacher Institute. Available from: https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2020/03/covid- 19-outbreak-potential-fallout-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights [Last accessed on 2020 May 15].
Arksey, H., & O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1): 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616
Binezero Mambo, S., Sikakulya, F.K., Ssebuufu, R., Mulumba, Y., Wasswa, H., Thompson, K., et al. (2021). Factors that influenced access and utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services among Ugandan youths during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: An online cross-sectional survey. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-48529/v3
Bolarinwa, O.A. (2020). Ignoring the Elephant in the Room: Factors Contributing to Inadequate Access to Contraception and Sources of Contraception during Novel Coronavirus Diseases 2019 in South Africa. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00701-5
Covidence (Producer). (2014). Available from: https://www. covidence.org [Last accessed on 2021 Nov 22].
Decker, M.R., Wood, S.N., Thiongo, M., Byrne, M.E., Devoto, B., Morgan, R., et al. (2021). Gendered health, economic, social and safety impact of COVID-19 on adolescents and young adults in Nairobi, Kenya. PLoS One, 16(11): e0259583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259583
Eremutha, F., & Gabriel, V.C. (2019). Barriers limiting youth access to reproductive health services by primary health care facilities in Nigeria. Universal Journal of Public Health, 7(1): 36-43. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujph.2019.070105
Gausman, J., Othman, A., Al-Qotob, R., Shaheen, A., Abu Sabbah, E., Aldiqs, M., et al. (2021). Health care professionals’ attitudes towards youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in Jordan: A cross-sectional study of physicians, midwives and nurses. Reproductive Health, 18(1): 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01137-4
Habtu, Y., Kaba, M., & Mekonnen, H. (2021). What do service providers in Southern Ethiopia say about barriers to using youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents?: Qualitative study. Reproductive Health, 18(1): 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01092-0
Haile, B., Shegaze, M., Feleke, T., Glagn, M., & Andarge, E. (2020). Disparities in utilization of sexual and reproductive health services among high school adolescents from youth friendly service implemented and non-implemented areas of Southern Ethiopia. Archives of Public Health, 78(1): 126. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00508-w
Hailemariam, S., Gutema, L., Agegnehu, W., & Derese, M. (2021). Challenges faced by female out-of-school adolescents in accessing and utilizing sexual and reproductive health service: A qualitative exploratory study in southwest, Ethiopia. Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 12: 21501327211018936. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501327211018936
Isiugo-Abanihe, I.M. (2005). Benefits of Sexuality Education for Young Persons in Nigeria. New Jersey: Citeseer.
Kellermeyer, L., Harnke, B., & Knight, S. (2018). Covidence and rayyan. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 106(4): 580. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.513
Mmeje, O.O., Coleman, J.S., & Chang, T. (2020). Unintended consequences of the covid-19 pandemic on the sexual and reproductive health of youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(3): 326-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.06.019
Mongbo, Y., Sombié, I., Dao, B., Johnson, E.A., Ouédraogo, L., Tall, F., et al. (2021). Maintaining continuity of essential reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Francophone West Africa. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 25(2): 76-85. https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2021/v25i2.7
Mutea, L., Ontiri, S., Kadiri, F., Michielesen, K., & Gichangi, P. (2020). Access to information and use of adolescent sexual reproductive health services: Qualitative exploration of barriers and facilitators in Kisumu and Kakamega, Kenya. PLoS One, 15(11): e0241985. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241985
Ninsiima, L.R., Chiumia, I.K., & Ndejjo, R. (2021). Factors influencing access to and utilisation of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. Reproductive Health, 18(1): 135. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01183-y
Odo, A.N., Ofuebe, J.I., Anike, A.I., & Samuel, E.S. (2021). Predictors of young people’s use of sexual and reproductive health services in Nigeria: A mixed-method approach. BMC Public Health, 21(1): 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-10022-x
Okawa, S., Mwanza-Kabaghe, S., Mwiya, M., Kikuchi, K., Jimba, M., Kankasa, C., et al. (2018). Sexual and reproductive health behavior and unmet needs among a sample of adolescents living with HIV in Zambia: A cross-sectional study. Reproduction Health, 15(1): 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0493-8
Oyediran, K.A., Makinde, O.A., & Adelakin, O. (2020). The role of telemedicine in addressing access to sexual and reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 24(S1): 49-55. https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2020/v24i2s.8
Peters, M.D., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Munn, Z., Tricco, A.C., & Khalil, H. (2020). Chapter 11: Scoping reviews (2020 version). In: JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. South Australia: Joanna Briggs Institute.
Tilahun, T., Bekuma, T.T., Getachew, M., & Seme, A. (2021). Assessment of access and utilization of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health services in western Ethiopia. Reproduction Health, 18(1): 85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01136-5
Togun, T., Kampmann, B., Stoker, N.G., & Lipman, M. (2020). Anticipating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB patients and TB control programmes. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 19(1): 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12941-020-00363-1
Tricco, A.C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K.K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., et al. (2018). PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7): 467-473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850
UNFPA. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on Family Planning: What We Know One Year into the Pandemic. UNFPA Technical Note. Available from: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/ files/resource-pdf/covid_impact_fp_v5.pdf [Last accessed on 2022 Jul 22].
Watara, A.S., Mumuni, A., Zuwera, Y., Edward, A.A., Iddrisu, M.G., & Margret, B.D. (2020). Young people’s experiences in accessing sexual and reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa from 1994 to 2019-a content analysis. International Journal of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care, 3(1): 17-26.
Weiss, C., Elouard, Y., Gerold, J., & Merten, S. (2018). Training in youth-friendly service provision improves nurses’ competency level in the Great Lakes Region. International Journal of Public Health, 63(6): 753-763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1106-6
Wood, S.N., Karp, C., OlaOlorun, F., Pierre, A.Z., Guiella, G., Gichangi, P., et al. (2021). Need for and use of contraception by women before and during COVID-19 in four sub- Saharan African geographies: Results from population-based national or regional cohort surveys. Lancet Global Health, 9(6): e793-e801. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(21)00105-4
World Health Organization. (2020). COVID-19: Situation Update for WHO African Region. External Situation Report. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/ handle/10665/334326/sitrep_covid-19_whoafro_20200916-eng. pdf?sequence=1&isallowed=y [Last accessed on 2022 Jul 22].
Wusu, O. (2020). Contexts and persistence of age of consent for accessing family planning services in Lagos, Nigeria: A qualitative study. African Journal of Reproduction and Health, 24(3): 135-145. https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2020/v24i3.15
Zuniga, C., Wollum, A., Grindlay, K., Douglas-Durham, E., Higgins, S., Barr-Walker, J., et al. (2022). The impacts of contraceptive stock-outs on users, providers, and facilities: A systematic literature review. Global Public Health, 17(1): 83-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2020.1850829