Highly active antiretroviral therapy and increased use of contraceptives among HIV-positive women during expanding access to antiretroviral therapy in Mbarara, Uganda.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether the prevalence of contraceptive use among women who are HIV positive varied according to use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Mbarara, Uganda.
METHODS: We used data from a cross-sectional survey of 484 women who were HIV positive (18-50 years) and were attending Mbarara University's HIV clinic, 45% of whom were receiving HAART. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the association between HAART use and contraceptive use. Data were collected between November 2005 and June 2006.
RESULTS: Overall, 45% of the women were sexually active in the previous 3 months. Of these, 85% reported using contraceptive methods, with 84% reporting use of barrier contraceptive methods. Women receiving HAART were more than twice as likely to use contraceptive methods (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07, 6.49) and more than 3 times as likely to use barrier contraceptive methods (AOR = 3.62; 95% CI = 1.54, 8.55) than were women not receiving HAART.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the need for increased attention to better integration of reproductive health and HIV and AIDS services for women who are HIV positive.