Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether current HAART use is associated with recent sexual intercourse among HIV-infected women (18–49 years) from Brazil, South Africa and Uganda. We conducted an analysis of survey data from a cross-sectional study, which enrolled 179 HIV-infected women receiving regular care from the Mbarara Hospital HIV Clinic in Uganda (n=85); the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa (n=50); and the IPEC-Fiocruz cohort in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (n=44). The primary outcome was sexual intercourse in the previous month. Secondary outcomes were protected sex and contraceptive use. We found that overall, 46% reported recent sexual intercourse. After adjusting for covariates, recent sexual intercourse was not associated with HAART use (AOR: 0.76; 95%CI: 0.34–1.72); however, it was significantly associated with being currently married, wanting to have more children and having higher HAART optimism. Among women reporting recent sexual intercourse (n=83), HAART users were significantly more likely to practice protected sex (crude OR: 3.64; 95%CI: 1.41–9.38) and non-significantly more likely to use contraceptive methods (crude OR: 2.15; 95%CI: 0.77–5.99). In summary, self-reported recent sexual intercourse is not more likely among women on HAART. Moreover, sexually active HAART users may be more likely to practice protected sex and use contraceptives.

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