{ "abstract": "Sexually transmitted infections during pregnancy are associated with important maternal, fetal, and neonatal complications, including vertical transmission, congenital infection, stillbirth, preterm birth, and increased maternal morbidity. Pregnant migrant and refugee women may face additional risks because displacement, legal precarity, socioeconomic vulnerability, and limited access to antenatal care can delay screening and treatment. However, the burden of sexually transmitted infections in this population remains poorly characterized, and available estimates are fragmented across geographic regions, migration categories, diagnostic methods, and healthcare settings. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate infection-specific prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among pregnant migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking, undocumented, internally displaced, or otherwise displaced women worldwide and to characterize variation by geographic region, migration status, and other clinically relevant factors. Methods: This protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251085346). We will include peer-reviewed primary cross-sectional studies and cohort studies with a defined prevalence denominator, while excluding case reports, case series, case-control studies, grey literature and reports without a valid denominator. MEDLINE via Ovid, Embase.com, Scopus, Web of Science, the Virtual Health Library, and the WHO Global Index Medicus will be searched without language, date, or geographic restrictions and citation searches. Two reviewers will independently screen records and extract data using a prespecified form that will be pilot-tested before formal extraction. Risk of bias will be assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute prevalence checklist. When at least three comparable independent estimates are available, random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted separately for each infection. A participant-level composite of any STI will be analyzed only when explicitly reported using unique individuals and will not be derived by summing infection-specific cases. Certainty will be evaluated using a GRADE-informed approach adapted for prevalence estimates.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Hospital Universitario Departamental de Nariño, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia", "Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Campus Pasto, Colombia", "Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Managua, Nicaragua", "University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America", "Central and University Library of Lucerne, Frohburgstrasse, Lucerne, Switzerland", "Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Frohburgstrasse, Lucerne, Switzerland", "Instituto de Investigaciones One Health, Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC), Tegucigalpa, Honduras", "Health and Bioethics, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands", "Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru", "Grupo de Investigación Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas-Institución Universitaria Visión de las Américas, Risaralda, Colombia" ], "article_type": "Study Protocol", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 11, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Darío S. López-Delgado" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Carlos A. Narváez" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Gloria L. Chapués-Andrade" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Rosa Angela Ruiz Ibarra" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Danilo Alejandro Solarte Ordoñez" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Andrés Salas-Zambrano" }, { "affs": [ 6 ], "name": "Noah L. Schroeder" }, { "affs": [ 7 ], "name": "Magda Gamba" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Lysien I. Zambrano" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Oscar H. Franco" }, { "name": "Alfonso J. Rodríguez-Morales" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ctmc01tq41ef8.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359424", "fulltext_url": null, "id": "ctmc01tq41ef8", "issns": [ "1932-6203" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359424", "language": null, "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "journal", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "openalex", "2404|Reproductive tract infections research" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Sexually transmitted diseases" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Sexually transmitted diseases/Chlamydia infection" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Sexually transmitted diseases/Human papillomavirus infection" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Viral diseases/Human papillomavirus infection" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Urology/Genitourinary infections/Human papillomavirus infection" ], [ "plos", "/People and places/Demography/Refugees" ], [ "plos", "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Statistics/Statistical methods/Metaanalysis" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Database and informatics methods/Database searching" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Mathematical and statistical techniques/Statistical methods/Metaanalysis" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Research assessment/Systematic reviews" ] ], "openalex": "W7220429959", "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359424&type=printable", "pmcid": null, "pmid": null, "published": "2026-10-05", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ctmc01tq41ef8.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359424", "source": "plos", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359424" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "mathematics", "origin": "plos:statistical methods", "subfield": "statistics" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:infectious diseases", "subfield": "infectious-disease" } ], "title": "Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among pregnant migrant and refugee women: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis", "title_text": "Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among pregnant migrant and refugee women: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ctmc01tq41ef8", "venue": "PLOS One", "versions": [] }