Educational strategies for preventing female infections in prison: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective: To identify and map the main educational strategies for preventing infections of the female reproductive tract in the prison system. Methods: This is a scoping review, carried out in accordance with JBI recommendations, with research in the databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, LILACS, Scopus, Science Direct, Embase, Google Scholar and Proquest, from May 23 to 29, 2023. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) for the search and selection flowchart of review articles was used. All titles that followed the PCC strategy were included: Population: Women aged 18 and older. Concept: Use of educational strategies to prevent female RTI. Context: Prison system, with sentences served in a closed regime. Those who included an educational strategy carried out for cisgender men or women who already had an RTI diagnosis were excluded. Results: A total of 13 studies published between 1995 and 2023 were selected, with a predominance of educational strategies aimed at preventing sexually transmitted infections, mainly caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Educational strategies prioritized group educational actions, dramatization strategy and behavioral approach technique, using pamphlets, booklets, posters, cartoon books, genital organ simulators, videos and games. Conclusion: Collective educational sessions were the most evidenced in the literature for infection prevention, predominantly sexually transmitted, with few studies on vaginitis or vaginosis prevention.