HIV Status Disclosure and Uptake of Female Condom among Women Accessing Antiretroviral Therapy Services at a Military Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

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DOI: 10.4236/wja.2019.93010    476 Downloads   1,204 Views  Citations

ABSTRACT

Background: Female condom (FC) has efficiently challenged the increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI)/HIV, unwanted pregnancy and promoted self-protection and autonomy among females. However, despite being provided free of charge, the researchers have not observed satisfactory level of demand for FC by the HIV-positive clients at our facility. This study sought to establish the determinants or deterrent factors to the uptake and the use of FC among HIV-infected female clients in an Army hospital, Lagos. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used and 340 interviewees were selected for the survey. Analyses were completed using Epi InfoTM version 7.2.1.0. Association between variables of interests was established using Chi-square. Result: Mean age of the participants was 37.91 ± 8.33 years while the median age was 37. Greater proportion was married (50.5%), business women (55.5%), had at least school certificate (90.1%), and had regular sexual partner (84.4%). Only 69.8% disclosed their status to their sexual partners, while 79.5% in turn were informed of their partners’ HIV status. Being in marital union, younger age and being aware of partner’s HIV status were significantly associated with HIV disclosure (p < 0.001). Contraceptive uptake was 59.8%, while FC use was 5.4%. Most reported limiting factors to FC utilization were non-availability (22.5%) and use of male condom by the partner (13.8%). Conclusion: Suboptimal HIV status disclosure, contraceptive use and very low FC uptake among participants need urgent attention to limit further spread of the virus, STI and prevent unwanted pregnancies.

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Harrison, N. , Adegbite, O. , Agbaim, C. , Nwaiwu, O. and Oruka, K. (2019) HIV Status Disclosure and Uptake of Female Condom among Women Accessing Antiretroviral Therapy Services at a Military Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. World Journal of AIDS, 9, 129-141. doi: 10.4236/wja.2019.93010.

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