Abstract

The choice of contraception in people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is constrained by the need to prevent both sexual transmission of HIV and unwanted pregnancies.  We assessed contraceptive use among 400 HIV- positive persons attending a care and support centre in Kabale, Uganda. Participants completed a structured questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, sexuality, contraceptive use, sero-status disclosure and antiretroviral therapy. Bivariate analysis and multivariate modeling were conducted to analyze factors associated with contraceptive use. The rate of dual contraceptive use was low. On bivariate analysis, sex and age of respondents, education level, marital status, drinking habits, whether participant had a stable relationship, number of sexual partners in previous 6 months and frequency of sexual intercourse were significantly associated with contraceptive use. Likewise, disclosure of sero-status to sexual partners, partner’s HIV positive status, history of new sexual partners in previous 3 months and whether respondent had been treated for STD since HIV diagnosis were significantly associated with contraceptive use (p-value < 0.05). Factors independently associated with contraceptive use were level of educational attainment and whether respondent had changed partners since HIV diagnosis.

Key words: People living with HIV, contraception, antiretroviral therapy, Uganda.