Fertility desires among men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Nairobi Slums: a mixed methods study

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dc.contributor.author Wekesa, Eliud
dc.contributor.author Coast, Ernestina
dc.date.accessioned 2017-01-20T06:46:46Z
dc.date.available 2017-01-20T06:46:46Z
dc.date.issued 2014-08
dc.identifier.citation PLoS ONE; 9(8): e106292 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1932-6203
dc.identifier.uri http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106292&type=printable
dc.identifier.uri http://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/2939
dc.description doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106292 en_US
dc.description.abstract Objectives: Fertility desires require new understanding in a context of expanding access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper studies the fertility desires and their rationales, of slum-dwelling Kenyan men and women living with HIV/AIDS who know their serostatus, but have different antiretroviral therapy treatment statuses. It addresses two research questions: How do people living with HIV/AIDS consider their future fertility? What factors contribute to an explanation of fertility desires among people living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: A mixed methods study (survey [n = 513] and in-depth interviews [n = 41]) with adults living with HIV/AIDS living in Nairobi slums was conducted in 2010. Regression analyses assess independent relationships between fertility desires and socio-demographic factors. Analyses of in-depth interviews are used to interpret the statistical analyses of fertility desires. Results: Our analyses show that fertility desires are complex and ambivalent, reflecting tensions between familial and societal pressures to have children versus pressures for HIV (re-)infection prevention. More than a third (34%) of men and women living with HIV expressed future fertility desires; however, this is significantly lower than in the general population. Factors independently associated with desiring a child among people living with HIV/AIDS were age, sex, number of surviving children, social support and household wealth of the respondent. Discussion: Increasing access to ART is changing the context of future childbearing for people living with HIV/AIDS. Prevailing values mean that, for many people living with HIV/AIDS, having children is seen as necessary for a ‘‘normal’’ and healthy adult life. However, the social rewards of childbearing conflict with moral imperatives of HIV prevention, presenting dilemmas about the ‘‘proper’’ reproductive behaviour of people living with HIV/AIDS. The health policy and service delivery implications of these findings are explored. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Public Library of Science en_US
dc.title Fertility desires among men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Nairobi Slums: a mixed methods study en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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