Journal of Tropical Diseases & Public Health

Abstract

Fertility Desire and Associated Factors among People Living with HIV on ART, In Harari Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia

Fisaha Haile, Nesredine Isahak and Awrajaw Dessie

Background: Now a days, studies have shown that HIV infection may affect fertility by influencing desires and intentions to have children. On the other hand, studies of fertility intentions among HIV-positive individuals have suffered ambivalence and mixed results while some studies report a strong desire to have children, consistent with the high social values placed on children and others doesn’t. The relative strength of these conflicting findings varies according to individual and contextual factors. So, the aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of fertility desire and factors affecting it.

Method: A facility based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 518 individuals on ART from February to March 2013. A stratified systematic sampling by sex with proportional to size was employed to select the study subjects. Bivariate logistic regression was done to see the crude relationship and finally multiple logistic regressions were employed to identify the independent predictors of fertility desire.

Result: More than half (56.2%) of people living with HIV have fertility desire. Women have 58% times lesser fertility desire than men likewise age group 30-39 and Age >=40 have 61% and 85% times lesser fertility desire than 18-29 years respectively. Additionally, individuals who have a child in their life time have 76% times lesser desire than those who doesn’t ever have. Those who were not using family planning were three times higher to desire for a child than their counter parts and respondents who were not sexually active in the last six months have 77% times lesser fertility desire than those who were not.

Conclusions: High proportion of people living with HIV had fertility desire. Sex, Age, presence of children in their life time, use of family planning and sexual activity in the last six months were factors that affect fertility desire. Consequently, this implies the need for comprehensive reproductive planning and counseling for clients in HIV care settings in order to meet diverse reproductive intentions of PLWHIV.