Systematic review study protocol of literature from 2018 to end of 2022 of stated preference studies about HIV care and prevention services around the world

BackgroundThere are currently over 38 million individuals around the globe living with the HIV and AIDS. As many HIV prevention and care services emerging for public use services become available to a wider audience, there is a growing need for more information about willingness to engage in these care and services. Stated preference research methods have been shown to be useful methods to help predict factors that influence health behaviours in the future.Research questionThis is a systematic review of findings from stated preference studies regarding the choices of people living with HIV or people at risk of contracting HIV to engage in HIV prevention or care.MethodsOur team plans to compile stated preference studies studying the choice to engage in HIV prevention or care services. Studies will be included from 1 January 2018 until 28 October 2022. There will be no restrictions on the language or location of the study. We will search databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Scopus, Tufts CEA registry and CINAHL. Two researchers will review each article’s title, abstract, then full-text and finally extract relevant data based on a predetermined process. Data will be presented in a narrative review and in an exploratory meta-analysis by subgroups of studies.Ethics and dissemination of researchThere is no need for an ethical review process of this study since all data used is available publicly. The findings of this study will be reported in relevant conferences and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42023397785.