Stated preferences of adolescents and young adults for sexual and reproductive health services in Africa: a systematic review.

Melaku Birhanu Alemu, Richard Norman, Jaya Dantas, Daniel Gashaneh Belay, Tsegaye G Haile, Gavin Pereira, Gizachew A Tessema

Abstract readSystematic Review

PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher

In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sexual and reproductive health matters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Melaku Birhanu AlemuPhD Candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia; Lecturer, Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. Correspondence: m.alemu@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0003-1768-6689

Richard NormanProfessor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3112-3893

Jaya DantasProfessor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0625-4330

Daniel Gashaneh BelayPhD Candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5724-6234

Tsegaye G HailePhD Candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7076-6146

Gavin PereiraProfessor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia; Professor, enAble Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3740-8117

Gizachew A TessemaAssociate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia; Associate Professor, enAble Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4784-8151

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) constitute approximately 30% of the African population and face significant challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Low service uptake, despite availability, may indicate service provision misalignment with AYAs' preferences. This reflects the health sector gap and will partly compromise AYAs' rights. This study synthesised stated preference studies on SRH services among AYAs in Africa, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted across six databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and Global Health) and Google Scholar for grey literature on 24 April 2024. The attributes used to measure SRH preferences were classified based on the Donabedian quality of healthcare framework. A risk of bias assessment was conducted to evaluate the quality of included studies. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023386944). From 8,329 identified records, 16 studies with 8,005 participants from six countries were included in the final analysis. The attributes used were related to the structural (44.3%), process (41.7%) and outcome-related (13.9%) dimensions. The most important attributes were the cost of services, effectiveness of treatment and treatment frequency. Conversely, the least important attributes were treatment side effects, treatment and medical test sample collection characteristics, provider characteristics (age, gender and profession), and incentive type and recipient. In conclusion, AYAs' preferences were mainly influenced by cost, treatment effectiveness and incentive distribution methods. Policymakers need to develop affordable and effective SRH programmes with tailored incentives to align with AYAs' preferences to improve service uptake. However, these insights reflect data from a limited range of African countries.

Indexed as

Patient PreferenceReproductive Health ServicesAdolescentAfricaFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleSexual HealthYoung Adultadolescents and young adultsAfricadiscrete choice experimentspreferencessexual and reproductive healthSRHstated preferencesyoung peopleyouth

Identifiers

PMID40600504

DOI10.1080/26410397.2025.2520682

PMCPMC12320262

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