TY - JOUR

T1 - The International Sexual Health And Reproductive Health Survey (I-SHARE-1)

T2 - A Multi-Country Analysis of Adults from 30 Countries Prior to and During the Initial COVID-19 Wave

AU - Erausquin, Jennifer Toller

AU - Tan, Rayner K J

AU - Uhlich, Maximiliane

AU - Francis, Joel M

AU - Kumar, Navin

AU - Campbell, Linda

AU - Zhang, Wei-Hong

AU - Hlatshwako, Takhona G

AU - Kosana, Priya

AU - Shah, Sonam

AU - Brenner, Erica M

AU - Remmerie, Lore

AU - Mussa, Aamirah

AU - Klapilova, Katerina

AU - Mark, Kristen

AU - Perotta, Gabriela

AU - Gabster, Amanda

AU - Wouters, Edwin

AU - Burns, Sharyn

AU - Hendriks, Jacqueline

AU - Hensel, Devon J

AU - Shamu, Simukai

AU - Strizzi, Jenna Marie

AU - Esho, Tammary

AU - Morroni, Chelsea

AU - Eleuteri, Stefano

AU - Sahril, Norhafiza

AU - Low, Wah Yun

AU - Plasilova, Leona

AU - Lazdane, Gunta

AU - Marks, Michael

AU - Olumide, Adesola

AU - Abdelhamed, Amr

AU - López Gómez, Alejandra

AU - Michielsen, Kristien

AU - Moreau, Caroline

AU - Tucker, Joseph D

AU - I-SHARE research consortium

N1 - © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence to date about changes to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the initial wave of COVID-19 disease. To address this gap, our team organized a multi-country, cross-sectional online survey as part of a global consortium.METHODS: Consortium research teams conducted online surveys in 30 countries. Sampling methods included convenience, online panels, and population-representative. Primary outcomes included sexual behaviors, partner violence, and SRH service utilization, and we compared three months prior to and during policy measures to mitigate COVID-19. We conducted meta-analyses for primary outcomes and graded the certainty of the evidence using Cochrane methods.RESULTS: Among 4546 respondents with casual partners, condom use stayed the same for 3374 (74.4%) people and 640 (14.1%) people reported a decline. Fewer respondents reported physical or sexual partner violence during COVID-19 measures (1063/15144, 7.0%) compared to the period before COVID-19 measures (1469/15887, 9.3%). COVID-19 measures impeded access to condoms (933/10790, 8.7%), contraceptives (610/8175, 7.5%), and HIV/STI testing (750/1965, 30.7%). Pooled estimates from meta-analysis indicate during COVID-19 measures, 32.3% (95% CI 23.9-42.1) of people needing HIV/STI testing had hindered access, 4.4% (95% CI 3.4-5.4) experienced partner violence, and 5.8% (95% CI 5.4-8.2) decreased casual partner condom use (moderate certainty of evidence for each outcome). Meta-analysis findings were robust in sensitivity analyses that examined country income level, sample size, and sampling strategy.CONCLUSIONS: Open science methods are feasible to organize research studies as part of emergency responses. The initial COVID-19 wave impacted SRH behaviors and access to services across diverse global settings.

AB - BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence to date about changes to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during the initial wave of COVID-19 disease. To address this gap, our team organized a multi-country, cross-sectional online survey as part of a global consortium.METHODS: Consortium research teams conducted online surveys in 30 countries. Sampling methods included convenience, online panels, and population-representative. Primary outcomes included sexual behaviors, partner violence, and SRH service utilization, and we compared three months prior to and during policy measures to mitigate COVID-19. We conducted meta-analyses for primary outcomes and graded the certainty of the evidence using Cochrane methods.RESULTS: Among 4546 respondents with casual partners, condom use stayed the same for 3374 (74.4%) people and 640 (14.1%) people reported a decline. Fewer respondents reported physical or sexual partner violence during COVID-19 measures (1063/15144, 7.0%) compared to the period before COVID-19 measures (1469/15887, 9.3%). COVID-19 measures impeded access to condoms (933/10790, 8.7%), contraceptives (610/8175, 7.5%), and HIV/STI testing (750/1965, 30.7%). Pooled estimates from meta-analysis indicate during COVID-19 measures, 32.3% (95% CI 23.9-42.1) of people needing HIV/STI testing had hindered access, 4.4% (95% CI 3.4-5.4) experienced partner violence, and 5.8% (95% CI 5.4-8.2) decreased casual partner condom use (moderate certainty of evidence for each outcome). Meta-analysis findings were robust in sensitivity analyses that examined country income level, sample size, and sampling strategy.CONCLUSIONS: Open science methods are feasible to organize research studies as part of emergency responses. The initial COVID-19 wave impacted SRH behaviors and access to services across diverse global settings.

U2 - 10.1093/cid/ciac102

DO - 10.1093/cid/ciac102

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35136960

VL - 75

SP - e991–e999

JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases

JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases

SN - 1058-4838

IS - 1

ER -