Resilience in young people living with HIV in low to middle-income countries: a critical review

HIV continues to be a significant global health issue, with 39 million people living with HIV in 2022, including 1.3 million new infections. Of those, 27% were young people aged 15-24, highlighting the vulnerability of this demographic. Despite advances in HIV prevention and treatment, particularly with antiretroviral therapy (ART), low to middle-income countries (LMICs) remain disproportionately affected by the epidemic. The identification and promotion of resilience factors is critical to both decreasing infections and enhancing coping mechanisms for those young people living with HIV (YPLHIV). This review investigates resilience by examining definitions, measurement processes, and tools, and identifying factors associated with resilience in YPLHIV within LMIC settings. To ensure quality, studies published from April 2014 to March 14, 2025, were reviewed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Findings revealed that definitions of resilience often involved overcoming adversity, and measurement processes and tools varied widely. Social support was a key resilient factor encompassing support from family, friends, loved ones, spiritual, cultural, and institutional support. This review underscores the importance of resilience as a framework for addressing the psychosocial needs of YPLHIV and calls for the standardization of measuring resilience across studies.