Background: Little is known about the fertility desires of HIV infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral\r\ntherapy (HAART). In order to contribute more knowledge to this topic we conducted a study to determine if HIVinfected\r\npersons on HAART have different fertility desires compared to persons not on HAART, and if the\r\nknowledge about HIV transmission from mother-to-child is different in the two groups.\r\nMethods: The study was a cross-sectional survey comparing two groups of HIV-positive participants: those who\r\nwere on HAART and those who were not. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 199 HIV patients living\r\nin a rural area of western Uganda. The desire for future children was measured by the question in the\r\nquestionnaire ââ?¬Å?Do you want more children in future.ââ?¬Â The respondentsââ?¬â?¢ HAART status was derived from the\r\ninterviews and verified using health records. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate methods were used to analyze\r\nthe relationship between HAART treatment status and the desire for future children.\r\nResults: Results from the multivariate logistic regression model indicated an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.08 (95%\r\nCI 0.40-2.90) for those on HAART wanting more children (crude OR 1.86, 95% CI 0.82-4.21). Statistically significant\r\npredictors for desiring more children were younger age, having a higher number of living children and male sex.\r\nKnowledge of the risks for mother-to-child-transmission of HIV was similar in both groups.\r\nConclusions: The conclusions from this study are that the HAART treatment status of HIV patients did not\r\ninfluence the desire for children. The non-significant association between the desire for more children and the\r\nHAART treatment status could be caused by a lack of knowledge in HIV-infected persons/couples about the\r\npositive impact of HAART in reducing HIV transmission from mother-to-child. We recommend that the health care\r\nsystem ensures proper training of staff and appropriate communication to those living with HIV as well as to the\r\ngeneral community.
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