Sexual and reproductive health service delivery innovations and adaptations during COVID-19: A systematic review and crowdsourcing open call
Year: 2025
Type: review
Abstract: This paper sought to identify and describe the innovations and adaptations implemented to ensure delivery of Sexual and Reproductive Health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for enhancing SRH services in other settings or in future emergencies. We searched five databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL. The review was registered on Prospero (CRD42022329411). The open call was launched and promoted widely; each submission was screened by five independent reviewers. The GRADE-CERQual methodology was used to assess confidence in each study finding. A thematic synthesis approach was employed for textual data and for studies with similar outcomes, a fixed effects model was employed. We identified 10,891 citations and 78 studies were included. We received 80 submissions to the open call, and 18 submissions contributed to the study findings. Submissions came from 42 countries, most of which were LMICs (37/42). Telemedicine was one main mode of continuing SRH services during the pandemic (moderate certainty). Teleabortion, or the provision of medication abortion remotely via telemedicine, was found to be a safe and effective way to maintain abortion service (97·9% of cases with 95% CI = 95·6 to 99·4%). However, increased reliance on telemedicine exacerbates inequities for low-income and rural populations. Self-care and self-testing enabled individuals to receive care for STIs (moderate certainty). This work identified strategies used to deliver SRH services during COVID-19 and the data suggest that many strategies relied on telemedicine to sustain SRH services. Self-care interventions were also used to sustain delivery of SRH services. There is need for further research to understand the long-term impact of these interventions and how they can be sustained over time.
DOI: 10.17615/hb4a-k460
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Centre Hospitalier, Université Grenoble Alpes, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, World Health Organization, Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California Berkeley, Auburn University, École Normale Supérieure, South Dakota State University, American College of Sports Medicine, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Government of Alberta, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Federation of European Microbiological Societies, Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sveriges Riksbanken, Ege Üniversitesi, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, Augustinus Fonden, Norges Forskningsråd, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Selçuk Üniversitesi, State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Moorfields Eye Charity, Sorbonne Université, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, Direktorat Riset and Pengembangan, Universitas Indonesia, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Division of Biological Infrastructure, Division of Environmental Biology, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Defense Sciences Office, DARPA, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Interreg, UC Davis Center for Equine Health, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W4415021728
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