Lived experiences of caregivers and parents accessing healthcare for HIV positive children in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative systematic review protocol
Jocelyn B. Gerra, Melda P. Rubillos, Maria Christine Love I. Bariquit, Gracia Niña R. Bongabong, Valentin Dones, Lucylynn M. Lizarondo, Ivan Neil B. GomezObjective:
This review will synthesize the lived experiences, including barriers and facilitators, of caregivers and parents accessing health care for HIV-positive children in low- and middle-income countries.
Introduction:
Caregivers and parents of children living with HIV face systemic barriers, including stigma, discrimination, financial burden, altered family dynamics, inadequate health care facilities, and geographic inaccessibility. While these barriers are known, a qualitative synthesis of the lived experiences of this population is needed to understand the impact and develop culturally and structurally responsive strategies.
Eligibility criteria:
This review will include the lived experiences of caregivers and parents of children aged 0 to 12 living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries who encounter systemic barriers that limit their access to adequate and timely health care services. It will include qualitative and mixed methods studies, provided that the qualitative data are clearly identifiable and relevant to the population of interest.
Methods:
This review will follow the JBI methodology for qualitative evidence synthesis. A comprehensive search will be conducted in CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Anthropology Plus, AnthroSource, Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC, as well as relevant gray-literature sources, university repositories, and conference proceedings. A 3-step search strategy, with no date or language limits, will identify both published and unpublished studies. Two independent reviewers will appraise the included studies and extract qualitative data. Findings will be categorized according to similarity in meaning, and synthesized using the meta-aggregation approach to generate a comprehensive set of synthesized findings. The ConQual approach will be applied to assess confidence in the synthesized findings.
Review registration:
PROSPERO CRD420261279658