Young people face challenges in accessing information on HIV and sexual and reproductive health services, with corresponding suboptimal uptake. Decision aids can provide information and decisional support to improve young people’s engagement with health interventions. However, they have not been widely implemented among young people. The availability of different choices for HIV and pregnancy prevention means that it is important to implement interventions that facilitate informed choices for these methods. We describe a protocol for a scoping review that aims to explore the availability, acceptability and use of decision aids for HIV prevention and contraception for young people.

We will identify relevant studies from the following electronic databases from inception to current date: PubMed, Scopus and Global Health; and grey literature databases, namely medRxiv and Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Eligible studies will report on HIV prevention and/or contraception decision aids and be written in English. Data extraction will be done by two reviewers independently using templates, with discrepancies resolved by consensus. Analysis will be done narratively, and separate for HIV prevention and contraception decision aids. Analysis will also include determination of the suitability of each decision aid for use by young people aged 15–24 years. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews will be employed to present results.

This review does not require ethics approval. The findings from this work will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local and international conferences.

This scoping review protocol is registered in Open Science Framework with Project DOI: 10.17605/OSF/IO/46YWG (accessible via: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/46YWG).

Our study explores the potential of positive parental involvement in preventing drug and substance misuse among young people in Zimbabwe.

We adopted a qualitative approach to explore the role of positive parental involvement in preventing drug and substance misuse. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with purposively sampled young people, parents/caregivers and key informants.

The study was conducted in Harare, Zimbabwe, in a suburb known as Highfield. Highfield is a high-density suburb located in the southern part of the capital city.

The participants for the study included young people (n=15), aged 16 years and older, with or without a history of drug and substance misuse; parents/caregivers (n=15), aged 18 years and older, experiencing drug and substance misuse in the household or community and key informants (n=10), aged 18 years and older, knowledgeable about drug and substance misuse.

The study aimed to explore the potential of positive parental involvement in preventing drug and substance misuse among young people in Zimbabwe.

We established several strategies for positive parental involvement in preventing drug and substance misuse. Parents should be unequivocal and set clear rules within the family that they do not condone the misuse of drugs and substances. However, this should be done in an environment that allows young people to share their views and opinions. Parents should also consistently monitor the actions and behaviours of their children. This is key in establishing signs of early indulgence in drug and substance misuse, allowing activation of appropriate support and care. Most young people are not aware of the dangers of drug and substance misuse; hence, parents need to raise awareness. Barriers to positive parental involvement include absenteeism of parents due to livelihood demands, making it difficult to enforce consistent supervision, as well as the lack of skills to engage young people in a way that enhances their appreciation of the effects of drug and substance misuse. However, initiatives like parenting programmes can potentially equip parents with the requisite skills that are needed to be able to steer young people away from drug and substance misuse.

Positive parental involvement is key in preventing drug and substance misuse by young people. However, positive parental involvement should be complemented by community efforts in the form of drug-intolerant communities.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) pose a huge public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence rates are among the highest globally. Barriers such as limited healthcare access, stigma and inadequate diagnostic facilities impede timely detection and treatment. Self-sampling for STI testing offers a potential solution to these challenges. This scoping review will systematically map the available evidence on self-sampling for STIs in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on its feasibility, acceptability, implementation and outcomes.

The scoping review will be guided by the Arksey and O’Malley framework. The review will include a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed and grey literature from various repositories and databases. The following databases will be searched: PubMed, Scopus and Global Health. Studies that will be included will meet specific criteria. The results of the review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols checklist.

The methodology used for this study is a scoping review of existing literature; therefore, ethical approval is not required. Findings of this study will be shared at national, regional and international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

We registered the protocol with the Open Science Framework.