Preventive practices toward sexually transmitted infections and their determinants among young people in Ethiopia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Globally, the estimated annual number of new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections occurring among young people aged 15–24 years is approximately 178.5 million. There are fragmented and inconsistent findings on preventive practices for sexually transmitted infections. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis protocol aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of preventive practices of sexually transmitted infections and identify its determinants among young people in Ethiopia. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) will be used to develop the review protocol. Online databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Google, and Google Scholar will be used to search published and unpublished studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument will be used to assess the quality of the study. Statistical heterogeneity will be checked using the Cochran Q test and I(2) statistics. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression will be performed to identify the sources of heterogeneity. The statistical analysis will be performed using STATA version 14 software. A random-effects model will be performed to estimate the pooled prevalence and identify determinants of preventive practices of sexually transmitted infections. DISCUSSION: Young people have a high unmet need for sexual and reproductive health services and poor preventive practices toward sexually transmitted infections. Although there are studies on preventive practices for sexually transmitted infections, there is no study finding on the pooled prevalence of preventive practices for sexually transmitted infections and its determinants among young people in Ethiopia. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis protocol will help to develop appropriate strategies.