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Evans school policy analysis & research group (epar), review of human development indices.

We review the current body of literature exploring the theories behind holistic human development measurements and the tradeoffs of different methodologies for the construction of human development indices. Through a systematic review of published and grey literature in the fields of human, international, and economic development we identify 22 current indices that aggregate measures from multiple dimensions of human development. We then analyze these indices to identify tradeoffs related to their unique characteristics and construction methodologies, considering ease of calculation, coverage of different measures of human development, ease of interpretation, comparability, and novelty. The report is accompanied by an appendix of summary tables for each index with further details regarding background information, methodology, index components, and evaluation criteria addressed within the report.

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The Human Development Index: A Critical Review

Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published a series of annual Human Development Reports (HDRs) in which the human development index (HDI) is computed for each country. This index has become an important alternative to the traditional unidimensional measure of development (i.e. the gross domestic product). Although the index still fails to include any ecological considerations, it has broadened the discussion surrounding the evaluation of development. Unfortunately, over the years, the HDRs seem to have become stagnant, repeating the same rhetoric without necessarily increasing the HDI’s utility. This paper evaluates how well these reports have lived up to their own conceptual mandate and assesses the ability of the HDI to further the development debate. We find that the reports have lost touch with their original vision and the index fails to capture the essence of the world it seeks to portray. In addition, the index focuses almost exclusively on national performance and ranking, but does not pay much attention to development from a global perspective. We propose the incorporation of three simple modifications for the index as a first step to overcome these shortcomings.

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Indian journal of economics

P.K. CHAUBEY

Intereconomics

Harald Trabold

Irmgard Nubler

International Journal of Development and Management Review

Godwin E . Uddin

Taking development as a multi-dimensional concept invariably justifies the argument of adopting the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) as a measure of development. Thus, being an attempt thereof to undertake a crosscountry comparative study of the trend of Human Development progress in selected countries between 1990 and 2013 and following the UNDP regional classification, a total of 35 countries inclusive of the industrial countries were evaluated. Factors such as continual social unrest, engendered socio-political crisis, adverse income distribution, high depth of food deficit, lack of education and health services amidst others were evident as limiting factors for human development. However based on the progress made in selected economies, it is recommended that priority attention especially by Developing Economies be given to enabling necessary institutional and structural changes in view to foster human development, synonymous to economic development.

Journal of Human Development

Frances Stewart

Hafizullah Baha

Purely economic assessment, such as economic growth and wealth as measure of Development has been criticized by different economists and scholars. The most important criticism of traditional development economics was regarded to be its ‘concentration on national product, aggregate income and total supply of particular goods rather than on entitlements of people and the capabilities that these entitlements generate’ (Sen; 1997). Development is much more than just the expansion of income and wealth… it is the process of enlarging peoples’ choices (UNDP; 1990, P.10). A country may achieve economic growth, but it might not bring change in peoples’ livelihood and actual development. Amartya Sen (1985) emphasizes the importance of ends such as decent standard of living, health, education… over means (income per capita or growth) for achieving development. His works shifted the Development paradigm from growth to human capabilities. Afghanistan as a post conflict1 country has had a considerable economic growth since the international community intervention and assistance in 2001. Despite over a decade of investment and assistance by the international community, Afghanistan’s human development indicators place the country within the bottom deciles of countries globally (HRP; 2015). Afghanistan’s HDI value for 2013 is 0.468 which is in the low Human Development category, positioning the country at 169 out of 187 countries and territories (HDI-AFG; 2014). Nevertheless, there have been improvements in Human Development over the past 12 years; the average annual HDI growth rate has increased to 2.46 percent in 2000-2013 from 1.42 in 1990-2000 (HRP; 2015). Between 1980 and 2013, Afghanistan’s HDI value increased from 0.230 to 0.468; an increase of 103.4 percent or an average increase of about 2.18 percent (HDI-AFG; 2014). There might be numerous factors that might have affected Human Development trend in Afghanistan during the period. One of the factors is considered to be the quality of governance that affects Development. There is somehow consensus among scholars and academic literature that there is a strong relationship between quality of governance and developmental outcomes, in particular Human Development. To find out the relationship and trend between governance and Human development during the last four decades, I am going to do my research thesis on the role of governance to Human Development-in case of Afghanistan. However, I have already done part of Introduction, theoretical philosophy and also literature review. Due to limits, I have not focused on critical views about HDI, its measurement and 1 Afghanistan is not considered as the post-conflict country by some scholars, it is sometimes grouped as a country in conflict and crisis. 4 methodology. The present paper which will be developed as part of my thesis is going to focus briefly on the conceptual framework of Human Development, Human Development Index brief introduction, measurement, methodology, HDI data source, Human Development reports series, HDI dimensions and conclusion.

World Development

DASPLANG G YOHANNA

Stephan Klasen

Peter J Kpolovie

Documentary analysis research design was used in this study to reliably, validly, authentically, and accurately ascertain the Human Development Index (HDI) of countries for comparison of continents in the world as objectively measured by the United Nations Development Programme via the World Wide Web. The investigation examined the three HDI indicators (long and healthy life, access to knowledge and quality education, and a decent standard of living) obtained from the different countries in the world and compared the HDI of the seven continents worldwide. A proportionally stratified sample of 182 was drawn from the 253 countries across continents in the globe for the study. Analysis of Variance and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were adopted to test the null hypothesis of no significant continental difference in Human Development Index at 0.05 alpha. Results showed that Africa has HDI mean of 0.536 which is significantly lower than that for each of the other continents in the world (Asia 0.714, Europe 0.845, North America 0.733, South America 0.738, and Oceania 0.693), and the global average of 0.697. Europe has the highest HDI with significant overwhelming preponderance over the world average and greater than that of all other continents in the universe. Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania do not differ significantly in their HDI. Each African country should do everything possible to guarantee the three HDI indicators for all its citizenry to radically improve the Human Development Index of Africa. Every country in each continent is charged to fervently improve its Human

Antonio Villar

The Human Development Index has experienced substantial modifications in the 2010 edition of the Human Development Report (changes in some of the variables, a different aggregation procedure, and the introduction of distributive considerations, among others). Those changes respond to some well-known shortcomings of the traditional design of this index and entail substantial improvements. There are still some inconsistencies in the new construction that have to be addressed (in particular, the use of a composite variable to approach educational achievements, the use of logs for the income variable and the type of normalization adopted). We discuss in this paper those inconsistencies and suggest some relatively minor changes that would suffice to avoid them.

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A Review on Human Development Index

Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences July – September 2018, Volume 6, No. 3, Pages 357 – 369

13 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2019

Anam Javaid

The Women University Multan - Department of Statistics

Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan - Department of Statistics

Shahbaz Nawaz

Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan

Date Written: August 5, 2019

Human development index is considered as very important for economy as by looking on it, development level of any country can be seen. It is based on education Index, health index and on GDP so for the purpose of analyzing the developing level of a country in different years, it is important to consider its HDI. In literature, Different authors have worked on HDI. The current paper summarizes the work by different authors so from this review paper the work that had been done on HDI can be seen.

Keywords: Human Development, Multivariate analysis, Economy, Pakistan

JEL Classification: G12, G21, G32, E43

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Anam Javaid (Contact Author)

The women university multan - department of statistics ( email ).

Multan, Punjab Pakistan

Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan - Department of Statistics ( email )

Bahauddin zakariya university multan ( email ), do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on ssrn, paper statistics, related ejournals, development economics: women, gender, & human development ejournal.

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Human development index in a context of human development: Review on the western Balkans countries

Boban dasic.

1 Faculty of Trade and Banking, Alfa BK University, Belgrade Serbia

Zeljko Devic

2 College of Economics Pec‐Leposavic, Leposavic Serbia

Nebojsa Denic

3 Faculty of Sciences, University of Pristina, Kosovska Mitrovica Serbia

Dragan Zlatkovic

4 Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Alfa BK University, Belgrade Serbia

Ivana D. Ilic

5 Department for Mathematics and Informatics, Medical Faculty, University of Nis, Nis Serbia

6 School of Mechatronic Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an China

Kittisak Jermsittiparsert

7 Department for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

8 Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

Hiep Van Le

9 Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang Vietnam

Associated Data

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Introduction

The Human Development Index (HDI), as one of the more complex composite indicators of the level of human potential and quality of life, is a combination of three dimensions (indicators, factors): life expectancy at birth, the middle number of years of education and the expected number of years of schooling combined into a single education index and economic benefits expressed by production, or GDP (gross domestic product) according to purchasing power (PPP US $).

The same measures and average achievements in the field of health, education, and living standards are presented. The HDI was first developed in 1990 under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and is published as Human Development Reports (HDR). At present, it has become the most widely used complex indicator suitable for international comparisons and assessments of the achieved development level of a particular country or region.

The paper deals specifically with the more perspective view of human development in the Western Balkans, with a series of socio‐economic implications for the development policy of the countries under observation.

The particular significance of the conducted research stems from the fact that in the countries of the Western Balkans are identified factors at the beginning of the transition period were often marginalized in the creation of macroeconomic policies, but in recent years there have been more positive developments in that regard.

The Human Development Index (HDI)—the level of human potential and quality of life. Measures in the field of health, education, and living standards are presented. Factors at the beginning of the transition period were often marginalized

1. INTRODUCTION

The wealth of a state is made up of people. The primary goal of development is the creation of such an environment that will enable people for a long, healthy, and creative life (UNDP,  1990 ). Human development is the extending process of people's choices. One can say this is a process of increasing the significance of human values. Naturally, it is a complex phenomenon that has been seen in different aspects—demographic, cultural, political–legal, and socio‐economic. Based on this phenomenon, some estimates are made of its impact on the economic and national development of the country. The national event is in correlation with human potential. The complexity of this relationship best illustrates the view that there is no simple answer to the simple question of whether nations are rich because they are better educated or better educated because they are rich (Blaug,  1976 ).

The human development paradigm emphasizes two simultaneous processes: The building of human abilities and how people use them to function in society and make choices between options that they have in all aspects of their lives (UNDP,  2018a ). The phenomenon of human development, which takes into account the close links between economic, social, cultural, spatial, educational, and healthcare, encompasses a safe economy, adequate nutrition, environmental protection, personal safety, community security, and broader political security. Current and future generations must be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to development. Personal and social security should be sought if it enables a decent life, in an economy where profit is distributed equally to all, and not only to a few and the environment whose fruits and pleasure can be used without fear. This concept provides a long and healthy life people.

The world is characterized by dynamic processes and significant changes in the overall social, political, economic and social environment, determining, and multiplying developmental specifics. Positive changes result in a better opportunity for people's lives, longer life expectancy, and better education, while adverse changes create developmental problems. It is important to emphasize that development problems cannot be explained exclusively by economic indicators. The process of measuring and interpreting differences in development is a much more complex problem. Measuring growth in a new globalized world requires a shift from the economic and to the noneconomic sphere (social and society). Development indicators should give a more realistic picture of the economic progress of a particular country. Only in this way, economists will identify the underlying development problems, offering suggestions to macroeconomic policymakers how to act in certain situations.

Development is in most of its conceptual history, portrayed as the normal process of change, or as a quest for economic growth. By the beginning of the nineties, the GDP was routinely used as the only indicator of the achieved level of development. After that, a series of new signs are emerging that are more comprehensive, multi‐dimensional, and from some different aspects, looking at events in the growth and development of an economy (Potter, Binns, Elliott, Nel, & Smith,  2018 ).

Since 1990, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been implementing a human development program by applying an approach that is not confined to national income alone but is focused on people and their ability to achieve the full potential to lead a healthy, productive and creative life. The first human development report published in 1990, “People are the real wealth of nations,” began a new approach to thinking about development (Ferjan,  2014 ). To date, 26 Human Development Reports (HDRs) have been published, which are the result of the calculation of the Human Development Index (HDI) for each country, based on which the ranking of countries in the world is carried out. The HDI is a widely cited statistic that is commonly used as a measure of well‐being in different countries (Engineer, King, & Roy,  2008 ).

In this paper is presented perspective view of human development in the Western Balkans, with a series of socio‐economic implications for the development policy of the countries under observation. The main significance of the research stems from the fact that in the countries of the Western Balkans are identified factors at the beginning of the transition period were often marginalized in the creation of macroeconomic policies, but in recent years there have been more positive developments in that regard.

2. METHODOLOGY

Analyzing the entire spectrum of indicators in HDI assesses progress in achieving many aspects of human development (Republicki zavod za razvoj,  2007 ). According to the UNDP methodology, in the period from 1990, when it officially began to apply, and until 2010, the HDI contained a combination of three different indicators:

• General quality of life, expressed by the expected duration of life;
• Literacy, measured by a combination of two indicators: the literacy rate of the adult population (weighted by 2/3 significance) and the total enrollment rate in primary, secondary, and higher education (weighted by 1/3 of the character);
• The standard of living, that is, economic benefits expressed by production, that is, GDP (gross domestic product) in terms of purchasing power (PPP US $). The analysis of purchasing power parity allows seeing the differentiation in purchasing power between countries by eliminating differences in the price level. It is most commonly used in international comparisons of GDP and its components. The program of monitoring and comparison of purchasing power parity purchasing power at the international level is under the responsibility of EUROSTAT's statistics, which publish annually the Purchasing Power Parities Report ( https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/purchasing‐power‐parities ) for a period of three years, including by comparing and comparing the prices for about 3,000 comparative and representative products that enter the composition of GDP of the OECD countries, based on which the relative price level of each state is determined in relation to the OECD average.

The above three indicators, used to calculate HDI, are available in almost all international statistical anniversaries and relate to the quality of life achieved in terms of life expectancy, literacy and accessibility of the school system to the individual. Conducting these three indicators to one common measure is done by setting a minimum, equal to "0" and a maximum, equal to 1 for each dimension. Each of these indicators is weighted with the relative share in the total number of signs. A set of weighted indicators creates a complex HDI and determines the position for each country on a scale of 0–1 (0 < HDI > 1).

Hence, HDI is a simple arithmetic mean of all three primary indices:

where I 1 represents the life expectancy index, I 2 education index, and I 3 GDP index.

All three primary indices are standardized according to the principle.

where “ I ” represents the actual value in the country.

The minimum and maximum values of individual indices are listed in Table  1 .

Summary of HDI reform (Jakopin,  2010 )

By 2010, all the countries of the world were classified into one of three groups, which indicate the level of human development achieved:

• 0.00 < HDI < 0.50 – low level of human development;
• 0.50 < HDI < 0.80 – medium level of human development;
• 0.80 < HDI < 1.00 – high level of human development,

and now they are classified into the following groups:

• 0.00 < HDI < 0.55 – low level of human development;
• 0.55 < HDI < 0.70 – medium level of human development;
• 0.70 < HDI < 0.80 – high level of human development and
• 0.80 < HDI < 1.00 – very high level of human development ( http://www.hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2018_human_development_statistical_update.pdf ).

The purpose of calculating the HDI is to rank global economies by the level of HDI and to compare such a ranking with those that are exclusively based on the GDP per capita (PPP US $). Three cases are possible:

• If the HDI rank is close to GDP per capita (PPP US $) ranking, it means there is a harmony between existing resources and development results.
• If the HDI rank is higher than the GDP per capita (PPP US $) rank, it means that these areas have used their potentials in the best possible way, that is, development policy is in the function of the entire population.
• If the HDI rank is lower than the GDP per capita (PPP US $) rank, it means that the allocation of resources in the best possible way; that is, their policy of development is not in the function of the entire population, but favors the ruling classes (oil‐exporting countries and similar economies based on the exploitation of natural resources and the mono‐cultural economy based on them).

At 2010, the HDI experienced some changes in the calculation of individual idioms (Figure  1 ).

Calculating the human development indices—graphical presentation ( http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2018_technical_notes.pdf )

The access to knowledge has undergone some changes, and it is measured through:

• the average number of years of education among the adult population, which represents the average number of years of schooling that the community of 25 or more years of age has acquired during life, and
• The expected number of years of education for children at the time of enrollment in school, which is the total number of years of schooling scheduled for children at the time of admission in school, provided that existing forms of enrollment rates for specific ages remain the same throughout the life of the child.

Changing the calculating methodology of the "access to knowledge" indicator was necessary because a number of countries, especially those at the top of the HDI scale, reached high levels of combined gross enrollment and adult literacy rates, which made the relevance of these indicators weaker, and new indicators better reflected the concept of education rather than the previous and more precisely indicate the differences between the countries. The lack of past and present indicators of “access to knowledge” is that neither one nor the others assess the quality of education.

The living standard as the third indicator of HDI has changed and is now measured by the gross national income per capita expressed in constant international dollars for 2011 converted using the purchasing power parity rate—GDP per capita (PPP US $). GDP does not reflect the available national income (some profits may be repatriated abroad, some residents of the country receive remittances from abroad, and in some cases, financial assistance entering the country can be significant), and GDP adjusts GDP for these factors and, therefore, is better a measure of the country's income level.

According to the previous method, the HDI was calculated as the mean arithmetic value of the dimension indicator, allowing the substitution among the dimensions, so that high achievements in other sizes could offset the more unfortunate results in one aspect. A multiplicative aggregation method is now in use, where aggregations are made using the geometric mean value of dimension indicators, which reduces the level of interchangeability between dimensions and ensures that a reduction of 1% in, for example, the GDP per capita (PPP US $) has the same impact on the HDI as a 1% drop in education or life expectancy.

HDI calculation is done in two steps. The first step is to create a dimension indicator. The dimension indicators that are measured in different units are transformed into a scale with no groups ranging from 0 to 1, by setting the minimum and maximum values for each indicator, which are also listed in Table  1 .

The UNDP experts’ team in selecting the lowest value indicators has been guided by the principle of survival or "natural zero" below which there is no chance for human development. Maximum values are the highest values in the observed time series (1980–2013).

The dimension indicators are calculated as follows (Klugman, Rodríguez, & Choi,  2011 ):

H h represents the life expectancy index, H e index of education, H ls index of living standard, l e real‐life expectancy, mys real value of the middle number of years of schooling, eys expected some years of education; l n is the natural logarithm, and gni the value of GNI(PPP US$).

The second step is to collect the dimension indicators for the HDI calculation.

Transformed by the use of these minimums and maxims, the HDI provides an aggregate measure of the achievement of the human development of a country concerning what it is at the moment sustainable.

To ensure the highest level of comparability among countries, the HDI is based on international data which for the following types of indicators:

• Life expectancy at birth: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs – UNDESA ( https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/ ).
• Expected years of schooling: UNESCO Institute for Statistics ( http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural‐sciences/science‐technology/overview‐of‐unescos‐work/unesco‐institute‐for‐statistics/ ). ICF Macro Demographic and Health Surveys ( https://www.icf.com/resources/projects/research‐and‐evaluation/demographic‐and‐health‐surveys ), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys ( http://mics.unicef.org/ ) and OECD ( http://www.oecd.org/ ).
• Mean years of schooling: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (Barro & Lee,  2016 ), ICF Macro Demographic and Health Surveys, UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveysand OECD.
• GNI per capita: World Bank ( https://www.worldbank.org/ ), IMF ( https://www.imf.org/external/index.htm ) and United Nations Statistics Division ( https://unstats.un.org/home/ ).

Comparing values and ranking in the latest Human Development Report 2018 with values and ranks from previously published reports by 2010 is not recommended, due to changed methodology, revision, and updating of primary data and adjustment of limit values.

In the latest Human Development Report 2018, the HDI indices for the period 1990–2017 comprise the compilation of data between countries, as well as tracking trends from the previous period. The latest HDI and ranking data are based on consistent indicators, methodology and time series data, which provide an overview of real changes in values and ranking over time, reflecting the real shift that the countries have made. The HDI's trends present essential facts at the national, regional, and global levels, highlighting substantial differences both in welfare and in life opportunities among countries over the years.

The HDI value, ranging from 0 to 1, shows the country that has reached that country's reach to its maximum value, which allows comparisons with other countries. The difference between the achieved and the maximum possible HDI value is aimed at showing the shortcomings of that country, with the challenge for each state to find ways to reduce these deficiencies, that is, to bring them as close as possible to the maximum value.

Although HDI is an indicator that ranks countries toward the level of human development, it will correctly never include social development in its full sense (Kovacevic,  2011 ).

There is no need for an Ethical approval in this study since there are no human participants.

2.1. HDI value in the world and by groups of countries

In the latest human development report, Human Development Indices and Indicators 2018 Statistical Update, the world's highest HDI value is 0.728, and is classified in countries of human development for countries of very high human development HDI 0.894 for countries of high human development 0, 757 for states of middle human development 0.645 and for low human development countries 0.504. Table  2 shows the HDI values for the world and human development groups, as well as information regarding HDI elements.

Values of HDI and its indicators by groups of countries and in the world (UNDP,  2018b )

The latest HDR shows HDI values for 189 countries. In the group of countries with a very high HDI value, there are 59 countries (Table  3 ).

Human Development Index and its components – the first ten countries belonging to the group Very High Human Development (UNDP,  2018c )

The country with the highest HDI is Norway (0.953), followed by other countries with lower HDI values. It does not necessarily mean that while Norway is at the top of the HDI value, it also has the best benefits of indicators that make up HDI. Thus, for example, can see that the first 10 countries observed for Life expectancy at birth Hong Kong have the highest value (84.1), for Expected years of schooling Australia (22.9), for Mean years of schooling Germany (14.1), while for Gross national income (GNI) per capita is Singapore's leading (82,530) (Table  4 ).

Human Development Index and its components – Low Human Development (Grimm et al.,  2008 )

The group of countries with high‐value HDI includes 52 countries, including Croatia (0.838) and 50th place (0.814) in the Western Balkans.

The Mid‐HDI countries group includes 38 countries, and it contains all the remaining countries of the Western Balkans, Serbia (0.787) in 67th place, Albania (0.785) in 68th place, Bosnia and Herzegovina (0.768) in 77th place and FYR Macedonia (0.757) in 80th place.

The low HDI group consists of the remaining 37 countries out of a total of 189 countries. The worst‐ranked countries are South Sudan (0.388), Central African Republic (0.367), and finally Nigeria (0.354) in the last 189th place.

Of the total number of countries surveyed (189), the highest life expectancy at birth as a component of HDI is Hong Kong (84.1), which is HDI at 7th place; Japan (83.9) in 19th place and Switzerland (83.5) at place number 2. For Expected years of schooling, the highest values are Australia (22.9), which is HDI in 3rd place; Belgium (19.8) in 17th place and Ireland (19.6) in 4th place. For the Mean years of schooling, the highest values are Germany (14.1), which is HDI in the 5th place; Switzerland (13.4) in 2nd place and USA (13.4) in 13th place. For Gross national income (GNI) per capita, the highest values are Qatar (116,818), which is HDI at 37th place; Liechtenstein (97,336) in 17th place and Singapore (82,503) in 9th place. From the above, it can be seen that countries that have the highest HDI values do not have the highest amounts of individual indicators that are integral to the HDI. Their leading HDI values are precisely the composite measure of the achievements of these indicators that are an essential part of the HDI.

3. ANALYSIS OF HDI TRENDS IN THE PERIOD 1990–2017

Comparing the HDI values by years (1990, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017), a linear increase in the HDI value can be observed. At the global level, from the beginning of the introduction of the HDI to the end of 2017 (HDI 0.728), we have an increase of 21.7% compared to 1990 (0.598) (Table  5 ). This growth for countries belonging to the Very High Human Development is 12.5%, for the High Human Development countries 32.6%, for Medium Human Development countries 39.6% and Low Human Development countries 10.2%. HDI growth rates vary by state. It can be concluded that the countries that belong to the Medium Human Development group have achieved the highest growth, but this growth is insufficient to transform them into more development HDI levels (Figure  2 ).

Human Development Index Trends, 1990–2017 (UNDP,  2018d )

Human Development Index values, by country grouping, 1990–2017 (UNDP,  2018e )

From the above chart, it can be noted that in the period 1990–2017. The growth of the world HDI was 21.7%. South Asia was the fastest growing region with 45.3%. East Asia and the Pacific follow it by 41.8% and sub‐Saharan Africa with 34.9%. The countries of Sub‐Saharan Africa are still in the low human development group, although they have approached the Medium Human Development group. South Asia is a member of the Medium Human Development Group, while East Asia and the Pacific are in the period 1990–2017 moved from Low Human Development to a group of countries with High Human Development. States of the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) recorded an increase of HDI in the mentioned period by 14.0%. This growth rate is lower than the growth rate of the countries listed, but it should be noted that the OECD countries are in the very high human development group and are approaching the maximum value of HDI. In particular, it should be kept in mind that different HDI components have their limits. There is a biological limit of life expectancy, and years of schooling and enrollment rates cannot grow unlimited, while income is the only integral part of the HDI that could continue to grow, but revenue growth slows down as the economy mature. It is important to note that the amount of 75,000 dollars per capita has been designated as an upper limit because it has been demonstrated that it practically does not benefit from human development and well‐being from annual income per capita above $ 75,000 (Kahneman & Deaton,  2014 ).

Factors that caused lower HDI growth rates in the period 1990–2017 are various armed conflicts in some countries and regions (for example, Libya, which ranks 82nd in HDI in 2012 to 108th in 2017, the Syrian Arab Republic from 128th place in 2012) to 155th in 2017, Yemen from 158th place in 2012 to 178th place in 2017), various epidemics (HIV/ AIDS in Sub‐Saharan Africa caused a dramatic decline in life expectancy), natural catastrophes, climate change, or economic crisis (the 2008 World Economic Crisis, hyperinflation, the introduction of market mechanisms in postsocialist countries a, oscillations in food prices, etc.). Due to the fact of the group as mentioned above of factors, some countries suffered severe losses, losing in the years that everything has been done for decades. There are 1,650 million poor in the world living in poor living conditions (short life expectancy), without access to education and health care systems (Alkire & Santos,  2010 ).

One of the major threats to social development is a long‐term vulnerability. If we remove the causes of weakness, then everyone will be able to participate in advancement, which will make social development more just and sustainable (UNDP,  2014 ).

Despite these challenges, countries in these regions have recovered from the losses caused by these factors.

Table  6 shows the annual HDI growth in the world and by the groups of countries. It is noted that the countries that belong to the Low Human Development group had the highest increase.

Average annual HDI growth – % (UN,  2017 )

Observing the increase in HDI ranking by countries in the period 2012–2017 the highest increase was recorded in Ireland (progress for 13 places), and Botswana, the Dominican Republic and Turkey (progress for eight positions). The most significant drop was recorded by the Syrian Arab Republic (fall by 27 places), Libya (fall by 26 places) and Yemen (fall by 20 places) (UNDP,  2018f ).

3.1. Trends of HDI country index in the Western Balkans

In this part of the paper, a comparative analysis of the HDI of the Western Balkan countries was made, namely Croatia, which is a member state of the European Union and Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and FYR Macedonia that are not yet European Union member states.

From the countries of the Western Balkans, Croatia, and Montenegro fall under the category Very high human development. Their HDI is below the average for the specified group of countries to which they belong. Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina have HDI above the average for that group of countries to which they belong, while FYR Macedonia has HDI which is the same as the average for this group of countries (Table  7 ).

Human Development Index and its components – Western Balkans (UNDP,  2018g )

Croatia has the highest HDI value (0.838), which ranks 46th out of the total number of 189 countries for which the index is measured. Croatia is in the observed group of countries, in almost all indicators that measure HDI, at the very top in terms of their value. The outcome is an indicator Life expectancy at birth where Albania has a higher value than Croatia (77.1:77) and an indicator of the Mean years of schooling where Croatia and Montenegro have the same amount. The above data point to a better international position of Croatia when taking into account other dimensions that make the quality of life apart from purely material (Borozan, Drvenkar, & Savić, 2016 ). Although Croatia is a member of the European Union and in terms of GDP per capita (PPP US $) significantly ahead of other Western Balkan countries that are not yet members of the European Union, this does not mean that other countries of the Western Balkans cannot have a higher value and better rank HDI, that is to say, Croatia in the ranking list. In a study by Konya and Guisan, it has been confirmed that some underdeveloped countries have managed to increase the value and ranking of HDI concerning individual developed countries (Konya & Guisan, 2008 ).

Montenegro is in the 50th position according to HDI (0.814). From the observed group of countries, it is found in all indicators behind Croatia, except for the Mean years of schooling indicator where they are equal. According to the value of BND per capita (PPP US $), Montenegro is best positioned by the observed group of countries that are not members of the European Union (16,779).

Serbia has an HDI of 0.787, ranking 67th out of 189 countries. Of all the HDI indicators, Serbia has the lowest life expectancy at birth (75.3) of the observed group of countries. With the value of Gross national income (GNI) per capita (13,019), Serbia is among the middle‐income countries. Considering that growth in investment in education is projected, with the simultaneous growth of other factors that constitute HDI, it is also expected that Serbia's ranking on the HDI ranking will be expected.

Albania is at the heart of Serbia's HDI. Albania has the highest life expectancy at birth (78.5) of the observed group of countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina are HDI (0.768), better positioned (77th) than FYR Macedonia (80th) whose HDI is the lowest of the observed group of countries (0.757). The value of Gross national income (GNI) per capita of Bosnia and Herzegovina (11,716) is the lowest of all countries of the Western Balkans.

FYR Macedonia is the worst‐ranked Western Balkan country (80th) in terms of HDI. The weakest values of the indicators that make up the HDI of FYR Macedonia concerning the other countries of the Western Balkans relate to the Expected Years of Schooling and Mean Years of Schooling (Table  8 ).

Human Development Index trends, 1990–2017 (UNDP,  2018h )

Based on the above analysis of HDI countries in the Western Balkans, we can conclude that inequality in income is generally higher than inequality in education and life expectancy. Similar conclusions were reached by Grimm, Harttgen, Klassen, and Misselhorn in a 2008 survey (Grimm, Harttgen, Klasen, & Misselhorn,  2008 ).

4. DISCUSSION

Looking at the HDI for the countries of the Western Balkans by years, it can be seen as gradual growth. Highest growth of HDI rankings in the period from 2012 to 2017 Bosnia and Herzegovina (an increase of 7 seats), then FYROM (increase for two places), while other countries of the Western Balkans retained their positions. In the period 1990–2017, Croatia (0.80%), Albania (0.73%), and Serbia (0.34%) achieved the highest average HDI growth. If such a trend of growth continues, it can be expected that Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and FYR Macedonia will move from the High Human Development group to the Very High Human Development for 10–15 years.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Western Balkan countries, sometime later, started the process of transition. The collapse of the socialist system and the economic planning process left great consequences for the group of countries mentioned. The development implied the implementation of reforms that are, among other things, linked to macroeconomic stability (Đorđević & Veselinović, 2010 ). This macroeconomic stability has disappeared. The savings rates were below the investment rate, the accumulation was mostly imported, while the financing of uncovered consumption and investments was mainly done through borrowing. One of the main limiting factors of development is reliance on foreign savings (Veselinović & Majojević, 2016 ). Today, it is a general case, primarily in developing countries (including the countries of the Western Balkans) that their investments exceed the domestic accumulation and the autonomous inflow of foreign capital and that this difference is not covered by the compensatory movement of long‐term foreign capital (Radević, Stojadinović‐Jovanović, & Dašić, 2016 ). The socio‐economic reality of the countries of the Western Balkans was characterized by a high unemployment rate, a high inflation rate, high public debt, a budget deficit, a high level of external debt, a high percentage of the poor population (Đorđević & Lojanica,  2016 ). Poor privatization processes, war events, the reduction of economic potential, low level of education, widespread corruption, the crisis of the value system, the moral crisis, are all factors that have negatively affected the economy and the lives of the people of the Western Balkans. Bearing in mind the problems that the countries of the Western Balkans faced, we think that the current positions on the HDI ranking list are not at all underestimated.

The experiences of the developed countries point to the conclusion that, in addition to economic stability and growth in production, the requirement of faster economic development is an improvement of the conditions of education and literacy of the adult population (Kulić, Milačić, & Đurić, 2015 ). Knowledge is a mechanism for raising people from poverty, increasing living standards and promoting economic growth (UN,  2017 ). Modern society is changing, and education, therefore, needs to be focused on meeting new needs and challenges (Martin,  2016 ).

Because of the importance of education, many poorer countries have to find ways to adjust their budgets to allocate more money for education. In the absence of their resources, they must turn to international sources (Tostensen,  2007 ). UNICEF, UNDP, and UNESCO have limited resources to distribute this type of assistance, and therefore are unable to change the modus operandi of their consultants significantly. Insufficiency and lack of education is a severe problem for human development as a whole because it limits the potential for community growth in the income and education dimensions of the HDI.

Thus, poverty reduction, modernization of health infrastructure, improvement in investment in education, increased information literacy rate, stable economic growth are all factors that need to be done to enable better and faster human development, which will result in the growth of HDI (RESI,  2018 ).

5. CONCLUSION

The concept of human development had not changed since 1990 when it was also defined in the first Human Development Report. It has remained focused on the lives, freedoms, and abilities of people. The success in the advancement of human development must be seen through the lives of people living and the skills they have. By analyzing the HDI, we conclude that among the 189 countries observed there are significant differences in the level of Life expectancy at birth, Mean Years of Schooling and Gross national income (GNI) per capita. It does not necessarily mean that countries with the maximum value of certain factors constituting the HDI have a higher HDI value. This is because HDI represents the geometric mean of all three elements that together make up HDI. In the period 1990–2017, at the global level, we have positive HDI growth, as a result of positive movements of all elements. As for the countries of the Western Balkans, they are in the group High Human Development and High Human Development, which is not a minor result given the crisis year at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.

All the countries of the Western Balkans have a permanent and mild, but also a continuous increase in HDI indicators, which will lead to further progress in human development. In order to ensure the comprehensive growth of all HDI components, the countries of the Western Balkans must continue to adopt global strategies and laws, realistic action plans, roadmaps for their implementation and the use of knowledge that encompasses a set of skills, competencies, and interests aimed at expanding people's choices and general welfare.

For future investigations of different factors influence on the HDI, there is need for more advanced approach and techniques like fuzzy systems or artificial neural networks which has capabilities of multivariable optimization with different parameters (Mohammadhassani, Saleh, Suhatril, & Safa,  2015 ; Sadeghipour Chahnasir et al.,  2018 ; ; Sedghi et al.,  2018 ; Toghroli et al.,  2018 ; Toghroli, Mohammadhassani, Suhatril, Shariati, & Ibrahim,  2014 ).

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None declared.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION

Boban Dasic did data analysis, Zeljko Devic did analysis, Nebojsa Denic did literature survey, Dragan Zlatkovic did literature review, Ivana D. Ilic performed analysis, Yan Cao did discussion, Kittisak Jermsittiparsert performed literature review, Hiep Van Le performed literature review

Peer Review

The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/brb3.1755 .

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This paper is supported by Shaanxi Innovation Capability Support Plan (Grant: 2018TD‐036), Shaanxi Natural Science Basic Research Project (Grant: S2019‐JC‐YB‐2897), and Research Project of Graduate Education and Teaching Reform of Xi'an Technological University in 2017.

Dasic B, Devic Z, Denic N, et al. Human development index in a context of human development: Review on the western Balkans countries . Brain Behav . 2020; 10 :e01755 10.1002/brb3.1755 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

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The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI uses the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI. The scores for the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean. Refer to Technical notes for more details.

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Open Access

Study Protocol

Adolescent HIV prevent and care framework: A global scoping review protocol- BSGH 006

Contributed equally to this work with: Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba’are, Osman Wumpini Shamrock

Roles Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations School of Nursing, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America, Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America, Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, Accra, Ghana, School of Nursing, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations School of Nursing, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America, Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America, Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, Accra, Ghana

Roles Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America

Affiliations Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America, Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab, Accra, Ghana, School of Nursing, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

• Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba’are, 
• Osman Wumpini Shamrock, 
• Darcey Rodriguez, 
• George Rudolph Kofi Agbemedu, 
• LaRon E. Nelson

• Published: August 19, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289994
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Among adolescents, HIV/AIDs remains a significant cause of death globally [ 1 – 4 ]. Given the unique stages in human development, adolescents have been shown to fall within a sexually active phase. Combined with other social and structural factors in their immediate environments, HIV prevention and care among adolescents can be filled with challenges for intervention. This paper outlines this protocol to systematically review peer-reviewed literature in prevention and care among adolescents 10–19 years. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will be used to report this scoping review. The review will involve screening and extracting data using covidence as the primary tool. The review will encompass quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies, utilizing a search strategy from electronic databases such as PubMed (NCBI), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate), Embase (Elsevier), and Scopus (Elsevier). Additionally, a search will be conducted for grey literature using Global Index Medicus (WHO), MedNar (Deep Web Technologies), and Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane). Duplicate removal and selection of articles that meet the inclusion criteria for the study will be performed using Covidence. Once the screening process is complete, data will be extracted from the full-text screened articles in Covidence. We will pilot the extracted data in Covidence to ensure that all relevant information has been captured, making necessary changes if required. Data extraction will be carried out by at least two authors, with any conflicts resolved by the same authors. If a conflict cannot be resolved between the two, a third author will make a final determination. We aim to analyze data thematically by employing a grounded theory approach to generate codes pertinent to the research question. The team will review and discuss codes to create a cohesive set of codes that will be instrumental in identifying knowledge gaps and constructing themes that summarize the data. The proposed systematic review will be among the pioneering efforts to rigorously assess global data on HIV prevention and care, with a specific focus on adolescents 10–19 years. It will consider the diverse socio-economic factors and experiences shaping these adolescents’ lives in HIV prevention and care. We expect this review to yield critical insights into the present landscape of HIV prevention and care for individuals aged 10–19. These findings will also play a pivotal role in shaping the development of a global framework that researchers and stakeholders can readily adopt and implement across socio-economic contexts. This framework will aim to address the unique needs of all adolescents concerning HIV prevention and care.

Citation: Abu-Ba’are GR, Shamrock OW, Rodriguez D, Agbemedu GRK, Nelson LE (2024) Adolescent HIV prevent and care framework: A global scoping review protocol- BSGH 006. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0289994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289994

Editor: Graeme Hoddinott, Stellenbosch University, SOUTH AFRICA

Received: August 17, 2023; Accepted: June 28, 2024; Published: August 19, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Abu-Ba’are et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: Deidentified research data will be made publicly available when the study is completed and published.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Globally, HIV remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide [ 5 ]. Controlling the spread of the virus has been a major challenge, posing significant problems in advancing preventative measures and providing continuous care to affected individuals [ 6 – 10 ]. The global prevalence of HIV has reduced in this decade, but significant regional variations in trends and modes of transmission exist [ 11 , 12 ]. The epidemiology of HIV among various key population groups, such as adolescents and socially marginalized groups, based on varying community perceptions about sex, has challenged the global efforts to control the spread of the virus [ 13 – 17 ]. Adolescents aged 10–19 years account for approximately 16% of the world’s population. In 2021, 1.7 million adolescents were living with HIV, comprising 5% of all people living with HIV globally, and accounted for 11% of all new infections among emerging adults [ 18 , 19 ].

Adolescent HIV/AIDS is a distinct epidemic that needs to be handled and managed differently from adult HIV [ 20 , 21 ]. Adolescent sexual and reproductive health remains a significant public health concern globally, especially in communities where child marriage and adolescent childbearing are high, with low exposure to modern contraceptives [ 22 ]. Several factors contribute to the high prevalence of HIV among adolescents, including vulnerability during their transitional stage in life and biological changes that can affect their social relationships, potentially leading to risky behaviors that increase the risk of HIV infections [ 19 , 23 – 25 ]. The severity of addressing HIV prevention and care in adolescence is crucial, as many adolescents with HIV are unaware of their status and fail to consistently use condoms in sexual encounters or face challenges when accessing preventive options due to alcohol-drug abuse, sex-HIV-age stigma and discrimination [ 26 – 27 ].

Adherence to HIV medication is a concern among adolescents diagnosed with HIV [ 28 – 32 ]. Accepting a positive HIV test result is challenging for adolescents due to the need for lifelong treatment and worries about their future goals regarding health, education, career and marriage, among other personal goals, producing a micro-level barrier to adolescents’ readiness for HIV care [ 21 , 33 ]. HIV stigma and sex stigma in some communities deter adolescents from accessing HIV care [ 33 , 34 ]. Additionally, the side effects of HIV medications can affect adherence as they can affect adolescents’ ability and willingness to consistently take their prescribed Antiretrovirals [ 35 – 37 ]. Determining appropriate antiretroviral (ART) dosages for sustained suppression in adolescents is challenging adolescent may experience growth spurt, particularly in under resourced health facilities [ 38 ]. Failure to take the correct dosage of antiretroviral can intensify side effects and result in poor adherence [ 39 – 41 ].

Although several preventative measures have been proposed to curb the incidence of HIV among adolescents, it has been recognized that no singular technique is enough to address the epidemic adequately, hence, an integrated approach that combines biomedical preventive techniques with behavioral and structural interventions is recommended as the ideal means of preventing HIV among adolescents [ 6 , 42 ]. The World Health Organization has also proposed using psychosocial techniques to support preventive measures for HIV among adolescents [ 43 ]. Considering that contextual factors significantly influence the effectiveness of interventions in HIV prevention and care among adolescents, it is important to pay attention to regional dynamics when proposing interventions for adolescents. Adolescent girls in 2021 accounted for 75% of all new HIV infections among adolescents. This percentage was even higher with adolescent girls in the 35 HIV-priority countries in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, accounting for 80% of all new HIV infections among adolescents. In sub-Saharan Africa in the same year, about six times as many adolescent girls were newly infected with HIV than adolescent boys. Beyond the sub-Saharan Africa region, the highest numbers of HIV-positive adolescents are in Asia and Latin America. In East Asia and the Pacific, more boys are newly infected with HIV each year than girls in adolescence. This finding mirrors the various distinct risk behaviors in the respective regions, which suggests that interventions must be personalized to the specific nature and dynamic of the epidemic.

Moreover, there’s a lack of a universal framework that adequately encompasses the multifaceted dynamics of HIV among adolescents, particularly those between the ages of 10–19 years. It’s important to address the gaps in adolescent HIV prevention and care research. Failing to consider social differences, intersectionality, and political climates in different geographical areas could hinder the development of practical and universally applicable policy recommendations that cater to the needs of this population. Our review proposes to:

• Develop a comprehensive assessment of data by conducting a thorough evaluation of existing research on HIV prevention and care among adolescents aged 10–19, considering diverse social factors such as geography, race, sex, age, gender, education, religion, sexual orientation, occupation, nationality, marital status, socio-economic status, disability, and immigration status.
• Use data to develop a global framework based on theory, research and practice to capture the diverse dynamics inherent in adolescent HIV prevention and care. This framework will be adaptable to various economic contexts and provide a standardized measure to support intervention in adolescent HIV prevention and care.

Method and analysis

We will utilize the guidelines provided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) by Tricco et al. (2018) for reporting this scoping review. As outlined by Tricco et al. (2018), the first step in conducting a scoping review is to develop a protocol to clarify the purpose and methodology of the review. By documenting and sharing this protocol, we aim to ensure transparency in our process and prevent duplication of efforts in the field of adolescent HIV prevention and care [ 45 , 46 ].

Ethics and dissemination

Our scoping review findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, making them accessible to researchers, practitioners, and the public. We will also share these findings at relevant conferences and events on adolescent HIV prevention and care. Additionally, we aim to use the insights gained from this review to inform future research studies, addressing gaps in the scholarly literature on HIV among adolescents, particularly in prevention and care.

Patient and public involvement

This study does not involve human participants or data collection, so it does not require ethical approval. The research findings will be disseminated through various channels, including conferences, webinars, and peer-reviewed manuscripts. The insights gained from this study have the potential to inform and influence the policies and practices of government health agencies and healthcare facilities, fostering improvements in the field.

Criteria for study inclusion

Only articles addressing HIV prevention or care among adolescents aged 10–19 will be considered. Such articles must present empirical data on the topic and be published in English. We will limit the search inclusion to English for two reasons. The first is due to the unavailability of a multilingual reviewer in the research team and the cost of translation services. The second is connected to our researchers’ expertise and proficiencies in English to ensure an accurate and thorough review of selected studies, enhancing the reliability of data extraction and minimizing the possibility of misinterpretation. Only studies published after 2013 will be included to provide up-to-date information.

Criteria for study exclusion

The review will exclude all individuals aged below 10 and above 19 years. Studies that do not capture empirical data on the topic and are not published in English will be excluded. Studies published before 2013 will be excluded. This review will not include certain types of publications such as review papers (including scoping and systematic reviews), book chapters, reports, opinions, commentaries, conference abstracts, and articles published in languages other than English.

Types of studies

Our review will include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. We will encompass both experimental and observational studies without excluding any based on methodological approaches. However, we will exclude articles that synthesize existing literature, such as reviews, in our analysis.

Search strategy

Identifying sources..

A medical librarian (DR) from the University of Rochester Medical Center will create the search strategy with input from other authors to help find any extra sources, such as grey literature, similar to what was done in other protocols [ 45 , 46 ].

Electronic database searching.

DR will conduct a literature search using PubMed (NCBI), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate), Embase (Elsevier), and Scopus (Elsevier). The search strategy will use a combination of index terms when available in each database and keywords including HIV, adolescent, care continuum, and anti-retroviral agents. See attached file for an example. The search will limit results to those published in the English language between 2013 to present.

Grey literature searching.

Grey literature will also be searched for using Global Index Medicus (WHO), MedNar (Deep Web Technologies), and Central Registry of Controlled Trials (Cochrane) to capture other relevant data that may not be included in other databases.

Data screening.

After the search process is complete, all articles will be exported to Covidence, and duplicate articles will be removed. Using the inclusion criteria set forth by the team, a two-step screening process will occur in Covidence. After de-duplication, the first process will include two reviewers screening the title and abstract of all remaining articles. After the title and abstract screening process, a team of two will independently review the full text of articles that have met the inclusion criteria. When the two reviewers complete the screening process, they will meet to resolve any conflicts. If the two reviewers cannot resolve, a third reviewer will make a final determination.

Data extraction

Data extraction will begin after all articles have undergone title, abstract, and full-text screening. Using Covidence, the data extraction form will identify publication details, including title, author, and year of publication. The form will also extract data on the methods, including study design, aim, and date. Participate data will include a description of the population, methods of recruitment, and number of participants.

To ensure that all the relevant data is captured as intended, the data extraction form in Covidence will be pilot-tested on a few studies. After pilot testing, modifications will be made, and the form will be used to collect data from eligible studies. The data extraction process will involve two authors working together to ensure accuracy. In the event of any conflicts, they will discuss and resolve the issues. If they are unable to reach an agreement, a third reviewer will be consulted to make a final determination. The review will adhere to the JBI guidelines when conducting the review.

Analysis and reporting.

The findings in the study will adhere to the guidelines outlined in PRISMA-ScR [ 44 ]. We will present a narrative summary of the results while utilizing tables to organize the data. The outcomes will be categorized, taking into account the number of studies, their designs, and methodology. Additionally, key findings from each study will be condensed and presented in tables. Although we will focus on screening experimental studies, we will not conduct quantitative data analysis. Instead, we will employ descriptive statistics such as frequency and range to elucidate the results. Our data will be thematically analyzed [ 45 , 46 ]. We will utilize grounded theory and establish a comprehensive list of codes relevant to the research question and outcomes. This code list will undergo a duplicate review by the research team involved in the data extraction process. A consensus will be reached on a unified set of codes through group discussion. These codes serve as the foundation for creating themes that capture the narrative synthesis of the extracted data and identify any existing knowledge gaps. The proposed framework will be guided by data derived from the systematic review and recommendations from researchers in the diverse research fields in HIV prevention and care among adolescents aged 10–19 years. We will use data derived to serve as a checklist and measure the extent to which the framework considers the social differences, intersectionality, and political climates of adolescents globally.

Outcome. The primary objective of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current state of HIV prevention and care research among adolescents aged 10–19 years. We will use this knowledge to create a global framework that can be easily used in various economic contexts and serve as a standardized intervention measure in adolescent HIV prevention and care. This framework proposes to enhance research, theory, practice, and policy efforts that consider the diverse experiences of adolescents in HIV prevention and care.

The prevention and care of HIV among adolescents pose significant global challenges due to various factors, including their transitional stage in life, vulnerability associated with their age groups, and the complex interplay of biological, structural, and social factors [ 23 , 24 , 47 ]. These factors individually and collectively may hinder efforts to reduce adolescent HIV-related deaths and transmission. The prevalence of HIV among adolescents is particularly concerning, with areas such as the sub-Saharan region experiencing higher burden of HIV-related deaths among this population group, exacerbated by risky behaviors associated with their transitional stage and a lack of awareness of HIV status [ 4 ]. Our review will aim to analyze global data on HIV prevention and care, focusing on adolescents aged 10–19 years. We will take into account various socio-economic factors and life experiences that affect how these adolescents engage with HIV prevention and care. The insights gained from this analysis will be invaluable in tailoring HIV prevention and care specifically for this age group. Additionally, we plan to use these findings to create a framework that researchers and stakeholders can easily adopt in different socio-economic contexts. This framework will cater to the unique needs of all adolescents in HIV prevention and care, ensuring inclusivity and effectiveness in diverse settings.

Strengths and limitations of this study

1. A notable strength of this study will be its rigorous approach to literature search conducted by a skilled librarian. The search strategy will be comprehensive, augmented by including grey literature sources. This meticulous process will thoroughly cover the existing literature, bolstering the study’s credibility and reliability.

2. Furthermore, this study will offer significant advantage by providing cutting-edge insights and valuable guidance for future research and interventions focused on enhancing awareness among adolescents in HIV prevention and care globally. By keeping abreast of the latest developments, this research will actively advance effective strategies and interventions in this critical area of HIV research.

3. The restriction to articles published exclusively in the English language may be one of the notable limitations of this study. While this ensures consistency and enables a comprehensive analysis within that language, it may inadvertently exclude valuable contributions from non-English sources.

4. Another anticipated limitation of this study will be its specific focus on adolescents (10–19) as the target population. While this emphasis allows for in-depth exploration and tailored insights, it may overlook valuable perspectives and findings relevant to other age groups or people affected by HIV prevention and care.

Supporting information

S1 checklist. prisma-p 2015 checklist..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289994.s001

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