Family planning use among women living with HIV: knowing HIV positive status helps - results from a national survey

Abstract

BackgroundWomen living with HIV continues to encounter unintended pregnancies with a concomitant risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection. Preventing unintended pregnancy among HIV-infected women is one of the strategies in the prevention of new HIV infections among children. The aim of this analysis was to assess the practice of family planning (FP) among HIV-infected women and the influence of women’s awareness of HIV positive status in the practice of FP.MethodsThe analysis was made in the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data among 489 non-pregnant, sexually active, fecund women living with HIV. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using SPSS software to identify the factors associated with FP use. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95 % confidence intervals were computed to assess the association of different factors with the practice of family planning.ResultOf the 489 confirmed HIV positive women, 184 (37.6 %) reported that they knew that they were HIV positive. The number of women who reported that they were currently using FP method(s) were 251 (51.2 %). The number of women who reported unmet need for FP method(s) were 107 (21.9 %). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, women’s knowledge of HIV positive status [AOR: 2.32(1.54, 3.50)], secondary and above education [AOR: 2.36(1.16, 4.78)], presence of 3–4 alive children [AOR: 2.60(1.08, 6.28)] and more than 4 alive children [AOR: 3.03(1.18, 7.82)] were significantly associated with current use of FP.ConclusionWomen’s knowledge of their HIV-positive status was found to be a significant predictor of their FP practice. Health managers and clinicians need to improve HIV counselling and testing coverage among women of child-bearing age and address the FP needs of HIV-infected women.

Modern contraceptive use among women living with HIV/AIDS at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana

“…A higher percentage of respondents with no education were not using contraception relative to those with some education. Habte et al . reported that, among HIV‐infected women with no education, secondary education, and tertiary education, 60.3%, 47.1%, and 45.2%, respectively, were not using contraception, as compared with 35.3%, 24.7%, and 20.0% recorded in the current study.…”

“…The availability of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) as the standard treatment in most settings has significantly reduced morbidity and mortality linked to HIV infection. ART has also helped to reduce vertical transmission during gestation, delivery, and breastfeeding . Individuals infected with HIV are living longer and healthier in an era of effective combined therapy and expanded treatment access …”

HIV status, fertility intentions, and contraception in the era of expanded access to antiretroviral therapy: A case study of rural Mozambique

“…Promotion of family planning to avoid unintended pregnancies is critical for improving health and wellbeing of HIV positive women and for effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (Andia et al, 2009; Habte & Namasasu, 2015; Petruney, Robinson, Reynolds, Wilcher, & Cates, 2008; Reynolds, Steiner, & Cates, 2005; Wilcher, Cates, & Gregson 2009). Yet, despite considerable overall advances in the provision of family planning services to both HIV positive and HIV negative women throughout sub-Saharan Africa, contraceptive use on the sub-continent remains limited (Darroch & Singh, 2013; Khan, Mishra, Arnold, & Abderrahim, 2007).…”

Modern Contraceptive Utilization and Associated Factors among HIV Positive Women on Antiretroviral Therapy in Mizan-Tepi Teaching and Referral Hospital, South-West Ethiopia

“…For instance, in Kumsia Ghana only 42.6% of women living with HIV/AIDS were reported to use modern contraceptives in 2014 [15]. Further analysis of the Malawi demographic health survey in 2015 also revealed that only 51.2% of women living with HIV/AIDS used modern contraceptives [16].…”