Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and policies around HIV treatment are expanding throughout sub- Saharan Africa (SSA). Recent improvements in the treatment context in Malawi stand to alter the bi-directional relationship between HIV and fertility in Africa. Of particular relevance is Option B+, a new program designed to provide universal and lifelong access to ART to pregnant, HIV+ women. Because such a policy has never been implemented before, Option B+ offers an important and immediate opportunity to learn about the implications of widespread ART access for reproductive goals and behaviors and the knock-on effects for HIV transmission. The proposed work builds upon longitudinal data collected by Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT-1) between 2009-11from approximately 3000 young adults living in Balaka, Malawi. Specifically, we seek to field TLT-2: a follow up survey of the TLT-1. TLT-2 will focus on respondents' reproductive, relationship, sexual, contraceptive, and biomedical service use histories. The original cohort will have aged to 21-31-years of peak childbearing and acute risk for HIV infection. We will leverage TLT-2 and the combined TLT-1/TLT-2 dataset to answer questions about women, men, and couples in an environment of widespread and expanding access to ART. In particular, we will measure the expected and possible unanticipated consequences of this new policy on both vertical (i.e., mother-to-child) and horizontal (i.e., between partners) HIV transmission and on patterns of fertility for this cohort. These individual- and couple-level data will be combined with new detailed data collected from clinics and policymakers examining the realities of new policy implementation at the local level. This combined couple-based and institutionally informed approach to understanding the changing relationship between HIV and fertility-a crucial dimension of reproductive health in SSA-stands to inform both research and policy by providing a preliminary evidentiary basis for how other test and treat policies in high-prevalence setting might influence fertility behavior and HIV transmission.

Public Health Relevance

Tsogolo la Thanzi-2 will expand an existing data collection project to examine the bidirectional relationship between HIV and fertility in Malawi, where the treatment context is changing rapidly through a new program called Option B+ which initiates HIV+ pregnant women on lifelong anti-retroviral therapy. By assessing how the relationship between AIDS-related phenomena (HIV status, perceptions of risk, etc.) influence fertility preferences and decisions-and vice-versa-over a 6-year observation period, TLT-2 will provide a robust evidentiary basis for informing policy and practice with regard to the integration of HIV and family planning services in SSA.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD077873-06
Application #
9321825
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1)
Program Officer
King, Rosalind B
Project Start
2013-09-17
Project End
2019-06-30
Budget Start
2017-07-01
Budget End
2019-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Chicago
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
005421136
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60637
Yeatman, Sara; Smith-Greenaway, Emily (2018) Birth Planning and Women's and Men's Health in Malawi. Stud Fam Plann :
Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara (2018) Conceptualizing Childbearing Ambivalence: A Social and Dynamic Perspective. J Marriage Fam 80:888-901
Frye, Margaret (2017) Cultural Meanings and the Aggregation of Actions: The Case of Sex and Schooling in Malawi. Am Sociol Rev 82:945-976
Yeatman, Sara; Trinitapoli, Jenny (2017) Awareness and perceived fairness of Option B+ in Malawi: A population-level perspective J Int AIDS Soc 20:21467
Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara (2016) SURPRISING RESULTS: HIV TESTING AND CHANGES IN CONTRACEPTIVE PRACTICES AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN MALAWI. J Biosoc Sci 48:174-91
Furnas, Hannah E (2016) Capturing Complexities of Relationship-Level Family Planning Trajectories in Malawi. Stud Fam Plann 47:205-21
Dovel, Kathryn; Yeatman, Sara; Watkins, Susan et al. (2016) Prioritizing strategies to reduce AIDS-related mortality for men in sub-Saharan Africa: authors' reply. AIDS 30:158-9
Dovel, Kathryn; Yeatman, Sara; Watkins, Susan et al. (2015) Men's heightened risk of AIDS-related death: the legacy of gendered HIV testing and treatment strategies. AIDS 29:1123-5
Conroy, Amy A (2015) The influence of relationship power dynamics on HIV testing in rural Malawi. J Sex Res 52:347-59
Frye, Margaret; Trinitapoli, Jenny (2015) Ideals as Anchors for Relationship Experiences. Am Sociol Rev 80:496-525

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