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HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review

INTRODUCTION: The need to effectively communicate HIV/AIDS prevention messages in Libya, where HIV prevalence is relatively low yet increasing, cannot be overstressed. A review of the literature on HIV prevalence, risk factors, stigma and awareness found that there is a lack of HIV research, informa...

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Autor principal: Hamidi, Abier
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8882926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35220842
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17455057221080832
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author Hamidi, Abier
author_facet Hamidi, Abier
author_sort Hamidi, Abier
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description INTRODUCTION: The need to effectively communicate HIV/AIDS prevention messages in Libya, where HIV prevalence is relatively low yet increasing, cannot be overstressed. A review of the literature on HIV prevalence, risk factors, stigma and awareness found that there is a lack of HIV research, information and support in the country. This is particularly true regarding women, who account for 25%–30% of people living with HIV in Libya. AIM: Drawing on the various literature, this narrative review will (1) present a historical trajectory of Libyan women and their role in society and (2) identify some challenges that HIV prevention programmes face in reaching Libyan women. METHODS: Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched for English and Arabic language articles. Primary research studies and official reports indicating a discussion or research on HIV in Libya and Libyan women were considered. Reference lists of articles were reviewed to identify additional studies. Thirty-seven articles dating from 1987 to 2021 were selected and critically appraised. RESULTS: There is a lack of sufficient information within the existing literature, but the gathered literature did reveal some significant insights. Factors such as limited sexual health education, inadequate medical services, social and cultural restrictions and stigma, as well as limited agency, were identified as potential barriers to women accessing crucial information on HIV. CONCLUSION: The article found that the HIV prevention efforts that have been carried out in Libya may be compromised as they were not designed to recognize and adhere to sociocultural norms that impact on Libyan women’s scope for choice and agency. By understanding the interplay between gender, social and structural factors in Libya, a model of better adjusted prevention and early intervention activities could be developed; a toolkit that conceptualizes the culture and that appreciates the role of a Libyan woman is changing.
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spelling pubmed-88829262022-03-01 HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review Hamidi, Abier Womens Health (Lond) HIV and Women’s Health: Where Are We Now INTRODUCTION: The need to effectively communicate HIV/AIDS prevention messages in Libya, where HIV prevalence is relatively low yet increasing, cannot be overstressed. A review of the literature on HIV prevalence, risk factors, stigma and awareness found that there is a lack of HIV research, information and support in the country. This is particularly true regarding women, who account for 25%–30% of people living with HIV in Libya. AIM: Drawing on the various literature, this narrative review will (1) present a historical trajectory of Libyan women and their role in society and (2) identify some challenges that HIV prevention programmes face in reaching Libyan women. METHODS: Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched for English and Arabic language articles. Primary research studies and official reports indicating a discussion or research on HIV in Libya and Libyan women were considered. Reference lists of articles were reviewed to identify additional studies. Thirty-seven articles dating from 1987 to 2021 were selected and critically appraised. RESULTS: There is a lack of sufficient information within the existing literature, but the gathered literature did reveal some significant insights. Factors such as limited sexual health education, inadequate medical services, social and cultural restrictions and stigma, as well as limited agency, were identified as potential barriers to women accessing crucial information on HIV. CONCLUSION: The article found that the HIV prevention efforts that have been carried out in Libya may be compromised as they were not designed to recognize and adhere to sociocultural norms that impact on Libyan women’s scope for choice and agency. By understanding the interplay between gender, social and structural factors in Libya, a model of better adjusted prevention and early intervention activities could be developed; a toolkit that conceptualizes the culture and that appreciates the role of a Libyan woman is changing. SAGE Publications 2022-02-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8882926/ /pubmed/35220842 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17455057221080832 Text en © The Author(s) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle HIV and Women’s Health: Where Are We Now
Hamidi, Abier
HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title_full HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title_fullStr HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title_full_unstemmed HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title_short HIV prevention – Challenges in reaching Libyan women: A narrative review
title_sort hiv prevention – challenges in reaching libyan women: a narrative review
topic HIV and Women’s Health: Where Are We Now
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8882926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35220842
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17455057221080832
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