Determinants of unmet need for family planning among HIV-positive women of reproductive age in a treatment and care center Jos, Northcentral Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: About half of Nigeria’s population living with HIV are women. Therefore, the use of contraceptives is useful for HIV prevention. The aim of this study was to assess the unmet need for family planning and its associated factors among HIV-positive women of reproductive age in Jos, North-central. Nigeria.Method: This facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 335 HIV positive women of reproductive age attending the (APIN) Public Health Initiative Centre of the Jos University Teaching Hospital in Plateau State. A systematic sampling technique was used to select participants. Pre-tested intervieweradministered questionnaires were used for data collection and statistical analysis done using the SPSS version 23 software package. A logistic regression model was used to identify determinants of unmet needs for family planning. Ethical approval was obtained for the study.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 37.44 ± 6.40 years. Unmet need for family planning was 25.4% and the commonest reasons cited include partner opposition and fear of side effects. Marital status, duration of HIV diagnosis, duration on HAART, use of condom during the last sexual act, partner/husband support, and desire for more children were found to be associated with unmet need for family planning. Predictors of unmet need for family planning were marital status (AOR=0.15, P-value-0.030), duration of HIV diagnosis (AOR=5.09, P-value-0.005), duration on HAARTs (AOR=2.64, P-value-0.03) and desire for more children (AOR=0.42, P-value-0.001).Conclusion: HIV-positive women of reproductive age in Jos have high unmet needs for family planning and will benefit from early reproductive health education which includes couple counseling on contraceptive use.