A Systematic Review Study on Prevalence, Determinants, and Risk Factors of HIV/AIDS among Pacific Countries

Introduction: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is known as the biggest public health challenge in both developed and developing countries. This systematic review study is carried out to assess the prevalence, determinants, and risk factors of HIV/AIDS in Pacific countries. Methods: This systematic review study applied Cochrane Library Guideline to search, review, apprise, and analyze the articles related to HIV/AIDS. Both qualitative and quantitative articles were published between 2000 to 2016, in English language and were published in databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, ProQuest, Springer and PyschInfo. A data extraction sheet was made and a descriptive statistic was applied to analyze the data. Results: Fifty-one studies met the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The United States had the highest frequency of studies on HIV/AIDS (30 studies). The overall prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Pacific islanders was between 1 to 14 percent. The most common determinants of community-based studies were ethnicity and gender, while they were age and ethnicity in the school-based studies and age in the hospital-based studies. The highest risk factors for HIV were substance abuse, number of sexual partners and unprotected sex. Conclusion:The results of the study highlighted the main determinants and risk factors, which provide a framework for public health experts and program planners to focus on different aspects of HIV/AIDS. As HIV/AIDS is a culturally sensitive health issue, developing preventive strategies considering the factors determined in this study will be strongly advised.