TITLE:
HIV Status Disclosure and Uptake of Female Condom among Women Accessing Antiretroviral Therapy Services at a Military Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
N. E. Harrison, O. A. Adegbite, C. U. Agbaim, O. Nwaiwu, K. E. Oruka
KEYWORDS:
HIV Disclosure, Female Condom, Uptake, ART
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of AIDS,
Vol.9 No.3,
September
9,
2019
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 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.