Effect of e-health interventions on HIV prevention: a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Global epidemiological data indicates that despite implementation of multiple interventions and significant financial investment, the HIV/AIDS epidemic remained inadequately controlled as of 2020. E-health presents a novel approach in delivering health information and health care and has gained popularity in HIV prevention worldwide. However, evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions on HIV prevention among diverse populations remains inadequate. Our study aims to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of varying e-health interventions on HIV prevention, with the objective of providing data support and guidance for the development of future e-health HIV intervention strategies. METHODS: A systematic search of electronic English databases, including MEDLINE through PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science, along with three Chinese databases, including National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Wanfang Digital Periodicals (WANFANG), and Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals (VIP) database, will be conducted for the period of 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2022. Additionally, gray literature and unpublished trials in trial registers will be searched. Studies aimed at HIV prevention through e-health interventions, with full-text publications available in either English or Chinese, will be included. Study types will be limited to RCT, cluster RCT, and quasi-experiment study. The risk of bias in individual studies will be assessed following the guideline highlighted by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The outcomes will cover cognitive, behavioral, psychological, management, and biological measures of individuals involved in e-health interventions. The quality of evidence will be assessed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Ultimately, a systematic review with meta-analysis will be conducted to compare the effectiveness of e-health interventions among diverse populations. DISCUSSION: This systematic review seeks to establish novel insights into the effectiveness of e-health interventions in diverse populations worldwide. It will inform the design and use of e-health interventions to optimize HIV-related strategies. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022295909. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-023-02274-6.