The DHS Program

HIV/AIDS and Unmet Need for Family Planning (English) 

Document Type

Working Papers

Publication Topic(s)

Family Planning, HIV/AIDS

Country(s)

Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Eswatini, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Language

English

Recommended Citation

MacQuarrie, Kerry L.D. 2015. HIV/AIDS and Unmet Need for Family Planning. DHS Working Papers No. 122. Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF International.

Download Citation

RIS format / Text format / Endnote format

Publication Date

October 2015

Publication ID

WP122

Abstract:

It is as yet unclear the extent to which women who are HIV-positive may have needs for contraception that differ from those who are HIV-negative. HIV-positive women may, at least temporarily after diagnosis, adjust their fertility preferences in favor of delaying or limiting a (subsequent) birth (Hoffman et al. 2008; Heys et al. 2009; Yeatman 2009; Bonnenfant et al. 2012; Keogh et al. 2012). For example, a multi-country analysis using nationally representative data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) found that in five of the eight countries studied HIV positive women who likely knew their status were significantly less likely to want more children compared with HIV-negative women who likely knew their status (Bankole et al. 2011). In keeping with differences in women’s fertility intentions by their HIV status, Johnson and colleagues (2009) found that in three out of the four countries studied HIV-positive women who likely knew their status were more likely to want to limit childbearing by using contraception.