article · Archives of Public Health
Human immunodeficiency virus continues to pose a major public health challenge across Africa. While preventing mother-to-child transmission relies heavily on maternal understanding, consolidated regional evidence on this topic has been limited. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 37 studies encompassing 466,995 reproductive-age women revealed that only 56.97 percent possessed adequate knowledge regarding the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Substantial disparities emerged across demographic and socioeconomic lines. Knowledge levels were significantly higher among women living in urban settings, older women, and those with higher educational attainment or greater household wealth. Exposure to mass media, broader understanding of HIV, and personal history of maternal or infant infection were also linked to greater awareness. These findings demonstrate that nearly half of women of reproductive age across the continent lack adequate understanding, underlining the urgent need for targeted educational and health communication strategies focused particularly on rural and economically disadvantaged groups.
Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV requires mothers to understand how transmission occurs and what protective care exists. Because nearly half of reproductive-age African women surveyed lack this critical knowledge, many infants remain unnecessarily vulnerable to infection. Recognising the specific demographic gaps, such as lower awareness among younger, poorer, and rural women, allows public health authorities to direct communication and healthcare resources to where they are needed most.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway. The findings primarily serve policymakers, public health organisations, and health communication specialists seeking to design targeted educational interventions, mass media campaigns, and maternal healthcare programmes. Any translation into operational tools, such as digital health education platforms or targeted health service delivery models, represents early-stage applied research that would require further development and field testing.
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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains one of the most serious global public health challenges. While several studies have demonstrated that women’s knowledge is crucial for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), consolidated evidence from Africa is still insufficient. This combined evidence informs policymakers and health professionals in designing and implementing effective strategies to fill knowledge gaps about PMTCT. Therefore, this review aimed to determine the overall estimate of knowledge about prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among reproductive-age women in Africa. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Item Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The study protocol for this review was registered on PROSPERO (reference number CRD420251077063). A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and HINARI, to identify relevant and eligible studies. In addition, relevant articles were identified through searches on Google Scholar. Extracted data from the included studies were analyzed using STATA version 17. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) appraisal tool was employed to assess the methodological rigor of the eligible studies. A random-effects model with the Der Simonian–Laird method was applied to determine the pooled prevalence of women’s comprehensive knowledge about PMTCT of HIV. A funnel plot and Egger’s test were utilized to evaluate the presence of publication bias. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic and Cochrane’s Q test. A total of 37 eligible studies, involving 466,995 reproductive-aged women, were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of women’s knowledge on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) was 56.97% (95% CI: 52.37%, 61.56%), indicating nearly half of reproductive-age women in Africa lacked adequate knowledge of PMTCT. Significant factors associated with higher knowledge of PMTCT included urban residence (AOR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.28), attainment of primary education (AOR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.44), secondary education (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.38, 2.01), tertiary or higher education (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.59, 2.46), being aged 25–34 (AOR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.32, 1.41) or 35–49 (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.15, 3.36), exposure to mass media (AOR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.44), having adequate knowledge of HIV (AOR = 1.964; 95% CI: 1.45, 2.66), history of maternal HIV infection and HIV-infected child (AOR = 2.19; 95% CI: 1.04, 4.60), and higher women’s wealth index categories: poorer (AOR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.05–1.62), middle-income (AOR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.50), and richer groups (AOR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.32, 2.81). Despite substantial progress in HIV prevention efforts, knowledge of PMTCT among reproductive-age women in Africa remains suboptimal, with considerable disparities across settings. The findings highlight persistent inequalities related to education, socioeconomic status, age category, geographical location, and access to health information. Thus, strengthening PMTCT knowledge requires tailored, integrated, and context-specific strategies that expand women’s educational opportunities, improve access to reliable HIV-related information through media and comprehensive maternal health services, and prioritize underserved rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. These proactive efforts are crucial to encouraging women for primary prevention of HIV, empowering women to make informed decisions, improving engagement with PMTCT services, and accelerating progress toward the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13690-026-02061-4
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