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. 2021 Apr 8;9(4):436.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9040436.

Mapping Evidence of Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak on Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Scoping Review

Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa  1 , Bright Opoku Ahinkorah  2 , Abdul-Aziz Seidu  3   4 , Edward Kwabena Ameyaw  2   5 , Balsam Qubais Saeed  6 , John Elvis Hagan Jr  7   8 , Ugochinyere Ijeoma Nwagbara  1
Affiliations

Mapping Evidence of Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak on Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Scoping Review

Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Introduction: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly transformed the pre-existing worldwide sexual and reproductive health environment. The provision and supply of contraceptives, and a wide variety of sexual health, new-born, and maternal health services have been seriously affected. Thus, this scoping review mapped the available evidence on the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on sexual and reproductive health.

Methods: Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework guided this scoping review. A search was conducted from the following databases: Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, WOS, and AJOL. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) chart and PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist were used to document the review process. The McMaster critical review checklist was used to determine the quality of the included studies. Thematic analyses were conducted using NVivo version 12.

Results: Three studies showed evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and family planning services, six studies reported on maternal and child services and eleven studies reported on sexual health (sexual behavior). Limited access to family planning use, reduction in multiple sexual partnership, decreased transactional sex, and maternal and child services disruption were some impacts reported in the included studies.

Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the impacts of COVID-19 on family planning access, multiple sexual partnership, transactional sex, and disruption of maternal and child health services. Interventions that will consider the immediate availability of and access to all sexual and reproductive health services should be prioritized.

Keywords: COVID-19; family planning; maternal and child health services; sexual and reproductive health; sexual health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow-chart of the study selection process. (Source: Adapted from Moher et al. [30]).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of the countries represented in the included studies (n = 17).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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