HIV Status and Contraceptive Utilization among Women in Cameroon.

OBJECTIVE

We examined patterns of contraceptive utilization by HIV status among women in Cameroon, hypothesizing that women living with HIV would utilize contraception at higher rates than their HIV-negative peers.

METHODS

Deidentified, clinical data from the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (2007-2013) were analyzed (N = 8995). Frequencies compared outcomes between women living with HIV (15.1%) and uninfected women. Multivariate analyses examined associates of contraceptive utilization and desire to become pregnant.

RESULTS

Contraceptive utilization was associated with higher education, living with HIV, monogamy, and higher parity ( P < .001). Women living with HIV had 66% higher odds of using contraceptives than their negative peers (odds ratio [OR]: 1.66, confidence interval [CI]: 1.45-1.91, P < .001). Polygamous women had 37% lower odds of using contraceptives compared to monogamous women (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.52-0.75, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Increasing contraceptive utilization in resource-constrained settings should be a priority for clinicians and researchers. Doing so could improve population health by reducing HIV transmission between partners and from mother to child.