Dual protection to address the global syndemic of HIV and unintended pregnancy in Brazil

Positive deviance for promoting dual-method contraceptive use among women in Uganda: a cluster randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of a positive deviance intervention on dual-method contraceptive use among married or in-union women.

DESIGN

Open-label cluster randomised controlled trial.

SETTING

20 health facilities in Mbarara District, Uganda.

PARTICIPANTS

960 married or in-union women aged 18-49 years using a non-barrier modern contraceptive method.

INTERVENTIONS

A combination of clinic-based and telephone-based counselling and a 1-day participatory workshop, which were developed based on a preliminary qualitative study of women practising dual-method contraception.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE

Dual-method contraceptive use at the last sexual intercourse and its consistent use in the 2 months prior to each follow-up. These outcomes were measured based on participants' self-reports, and the effect of intervention was assessed using a mixed-effects logistic regression model.

RESULTS

More women in the intervention group used dual-method contraception at the last sexual intercourse at 2 months (adjusted OR (AOR)=4.12; 95% CI 2.02 to 8.39) and 8 months (AOR=2.16; 95% CI 1.06 to 4.41) than in the control group. At 4 and 6 months, however, the proportion of dual-method contraceptive users was not significantly different between the two groups. Its consistent use was more prevalent in the intervention group than in the control group at 2 months (AOR=14.53; 95% CI 3.63 to 58.13), and this intervention effect lasted throughout the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

The positive deviance intervention increased dual-method contraceptive use among women, and could be effective at reducing the dual risk of unintended pregnancies and HIV infections. This study demonstrated that the intervention targeting only women can change behaviours of couples to practise dual-method contraception. Because women using non-barrier modern contraceptives may be more reachable than men, interventions targeting such women should be recommended.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

UMIN000037065.

Positive Deviance for Dual-Method Promotion among Women in Uganda: A Qualitative Study

Dual-method use is the most reliable form of protection against unintended pregnancies and human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infections (HIV/STIs). Although dual-method use remains uncommon among women in stable relationships, some women do practice it. In this study, we explored the barriers that make dual-method use rare and the behaviors of women who practice dual-method use using a positive deviance framework in Uganda. We screened 150 women using highly effective contraceptives at five health facilities. We identified nine women who practiced dual-method use and 141 women who did not. In a qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with all nine women practicing dual-method use and 10 women randomly selected out of the 141 who did not. We performed a thematic analysis using the positive deviance framework. Regardless of practicing dual-method use or not, women faced perceived barriers against dual-method use, such as partner’s objection, distrust, shyness about introducing condoms into marital relationships, and limited access to condoms. However, women practicing dual-method use had higher levels of risk perception about unintended pregnancies and HIV/STIs. They also engaged in unique behaviors, such as influencing their partners’ condom use by initiating discussions, educating their partners on sexual risks and condom use, and obtaining condoms by themselves. These findings will be useful in developing effective community-led and peer-based interventions promoting dual-method use to reduce the dual burden of unintended pregnancies and HIV/STIs among women in Uganda.

Abortion among women living with or not living with HIV/AIDS users of public health services in São Paulo municipality: prevalence, contexts and reasons

Abstract Objectives: we investigated the lifetime prevalence of abortion and life contexts and reasons reported for first abortion among women living (WLHA) and not living with HIV/AIDS(WNLHA). Methods: representative samples of 975 users of public health care reference network for HIV/AIDS and of 1,003 users of the primary care public services in São Paulo municipality were selected by cluster-stratified sampling and answered an electronic socio-behavioral questionnaire. Results: the prevalence of abortion was 11.9% (CI95%9.8-13.9) among WLHA and 3.0% (CI95%2.4-5.7) for WNLHA.Most abortions (128) among WLHA occurred before diagnosis and 28 after diagnosis or during pregnancy when diagnosis was given. The majority of women did not use any contraception at the time of the first abortion. The use of misoprostol was the most reported method. Having HIV was very important in deciding to abort for half of the WLHA. Absence of marital life and the lack of desire to have children were the most reported reasons by both groups. Conclusions: the similarity in contexts and reasons to abort among WLHA and WNLHA suggests that they share experiences molded by gender and social inequalities that affect their ability to access sexual and reproductive health resources and services.

The Intersection of HIV, Social Vulnerability, and Reproductive Health: Analysis of Women Living with HIV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 1996 to 2016

Comprehensive care for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and social needs for women living with HIV remains limited globally. We aimed to assess trends in baseline sociodemographic, clinical, sexual, and reproductive characteristics among a cohort of HIV-infected women in Rio de Janeiro from 1996 to 2016. Participants were stratified into four time periods based on year of enrollment; we compared cross-sectional data from each period. Of 1361 participants (median age 36), most were black or mixed race (60.1%), unemployed (52.1%), and without secondary education (54%). Adolescent pregnancy was common (51.5%), and 18.3% reported sexual debut at < 15 years old. Nearly half (45.2%) had < 5 lifetime sexual partners, yet prior syphilis and oncogenic human papillomavirus prevalence were 10.9% and 43.1%, respectively. Lifetime prevalence of induced abortion was 30.3%, and 16% used no contraceptive method. Future research should explore interactions between social vulnerability, HIV, and poor SRH outcomes and healthcare models to alleviate these disparities.

Mapping a Syndemic of Psychosocial Risks During Pregnancy Using Network Analysis

BACKGROUND

Psychosocial risks during pregnancy impact maternal health in resource-limited settings, and HIV-positive women often bear a heavy burden of these factors. This study sought to use network modeling to characterize co-occurring psychosocial risks to maternal and child health among at-risk pregnant women.

METHODS

Two hundred pregnant HIV-positive women attending antenatal care in South Africa were enrolled. Measured risk factors included younger age, low income, low education, unemployment, unintended pregnancy, distress about pregnancy, antenatal depression, internalized HIV stigma, violence exposure, and lack of social support. Network analysis between risk factors was conducted in R using mixed graphical modeling. Centrality statistics were examined for each risk node in the network.

RESULTS

In the resulting network, unintended pregnancy was strongly tied to distress about pregnancy. Distress about pregnancy was most central in the network and was connected to antenatal depression and HIV stigma. Unintended pregnancy was also associated with lack of social support, which was itself linked to antenatal depression, HIV stigma, and low income. Finally, antenatal depression was connected to violence exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results characterize a network of psychosocial risks among pregnant HIV-positive women. Distress about pregnancy emerged as central to this network, suggesting that unintended pregnancy is particularly distressing in this population and may contribute to further risks to maternal health, such as depression. Prevention of unintended pregnancies and interventions for coping with unplanned pregnancies may be particularly useful where multiple risks intersect. Efforts addressing single risk factors should consider an integrated, multilevel approach to support women during pregnancy.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03069417.

Preventing syndemic Zika virus, HIV/STIs and unintended pregnancy: dual method use and consistent condom use among Brazilian women in marital and civil unions

Syndemic Zika virus, HIV and unintended pregnancy call for an urgent understanding of dual method (condoms with another modern non-barrier contraceptive) and consistent condom use. Multinomial and logistic regression analysis using data from the Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saúde da Criança e da Mulher (PNDS), a nationally representative household survey of reproductive-aged women in Brazil, identified the socio-demographic, fertility and relationship context correlates of exclusive non-barrier contraception, dual method use and condom use consistency. Among women in marital and civil unions, half reported dual protection (30% condoms, 20% dual methods). In adjusted models, condom use was associated with older age and living in the northern region of Brazil or in urban areas, whereas dual method use (versus condom use) was associated with younger age, living in the southern region of Brazil, living in non-urban areas and relationship age homogamy. Among condom users, consistent condom use was associated with reporting Afro-religion or other religion, not wanting (more) children and using condoms only (versus dual methods). Findings highlight that integrated STI prevention and family planning services should target young married/in union women, couples not wanting (more) children and heterogamous relationships to increase dual method use and consistent condom use.