Abstract
BackgroundSexual behavior of HIV positive individuals visiting anti- retroviral clinics is a neglected issue. With access to anti-retroviral treatment, HIV positive individuals experience improved health and are able to reintegrate into their social life and many of them engage in sexual activities. In the context of Ethiopia, safer sex practices among people living with HIV is critical in terms of preventing the acquisition of another strain of HIV and helping address the epidemic.MethodAn institution-based cross sectional study was conducted at Addis Ababa public hospitals from January to February 2017. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Using the systematic random sampling technique, a total of 562 respondents participated in the study. The data were entered into EPI info version 3.5.3 and transferred to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bi-variate, and multi variable analyses were done. A p-value < 0.05 was considered to determine the statistical significance of the association between factors (independent variables) and risky sexual practice. The Odds ratio was also used to determine the presence and the degree of association between dependent and independent variables.ResultsA total of 562 respondents participated in the study which revealed that the prevalence of risky sexual practice was 39.1% (95% CI: 35.2, 43.8) three months prior to the data collection. Educational status of participants who were below grade eight (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI:1.01,5.10) and went to grades eight to twelve (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.02,4.41), were married (AOR = 2.07, 95% CI:1.06,4.02), had no concern for safer sexual practice (AOR = 3.74, 95% CI:2.28, 6.13), had CD4 count of ≥500cells/mm3(AOR = 1.66, 95% CI:1.04, 2.64), and used substance (AOR = 3.41, 95% CI:1.83, 6.35) were significantly associated with risky sexual practice.ConclusionThe prevalence of risky sexual practice was markedly high in this study due to such contributory factors as low educational status, marriage, lack of concern for safer sexual practices, and substance use.
Highlights
Sexual behavior of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) positive individuals visiting anti- retroviral clinics is a neglected issue
A total of 562 respondents participated in the study which revealed that the prevalence of risky sexual practice was 39.1% three months prior to the data collection
Educational status of participants who were below grade eight (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI:1.01,5.10) and went to grades eight to twelve (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.02,4.41), were married (AOR = 2.07, 95% CI:1.06,4.02), had no concern for safer sexual practice (AOR = 3.74, 95% CI:2.28, 6.13), had Cell differentiation count (CD4) count of ≥500cells/mm3(AOR = 1.66, 95% CI:1.04, 2.64), and used substance (AOR = 3.41, 95% CI:1.83, 6.35) were significantly associated with risky sexual practice
Summary
Sexual behavior of HIV positive individuals visiting anti- retroviral clinics is a neglected issue. With access to anti-retroviral treatment, HIV positive individuals experience improved health and are able to reintegrate into their social life and many of them engage in sexual activities. HIV infected individuals show good physical improvement and feel well after they start to use antiretroviral drugs [4].This general improvement in their physical condition and feeling of well-being lead most of them to reintegrate into social life, and many engage in sexual activities. Since they are on ART, most of the HIV positive individuals believe that they are not at risk of transmitting the virus [5]. One thing that should be taken into consideration is that if they practice unprotected sex which while their viral loads are detectable do they have the potential to transmit the HIV virus and other STI’s and acquire other strains of the virus which can’t be suppressed with the current ART drug they are taking [6]
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