Compared to other Americans, Black women residing in the United States represent the majority of new HIV infections. 1, 8, 9 Consistent with the national disparity, Black women in South Carolina (SC) represent 83.3% of the total cumulative HIV/AIDS cases among women;and most women infected with HIV in SC are of childbearing age.2 For instance, of the approximated 5,211 cases of women living with HIV/AIDS in SC, 4,620 women are of reproductive age (ages 15-49). As women of childbearing age become a larger part of the epidemic, understanding factors that influence their pregnancy intentions, such as the HIV serostatus of the partner, is critical to the development of relevant public health educational interventions to decrease HIV transmission risks to their partners and infants. The proposed study will employ a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design in two distinct phases: phase one (quantitative) and phase two (qualitative). In phase one, two hundred eighty four (n=284) women meeting the specified criteria will be recruited through one of the participating SC clinics to complete a cross-sectional survey which will be interviewer-administered. In phase two, an estimated subset of twenty-eight (n=28) women will be recruited from the quantitative sample to participate in face-to-face in-depth interviews to further explore factors related to pregnancy intentions and the influence of partners on women's decisions to become pregnant. Following the completion of the qualitative interviews, the research team will meet to integrate results from both the quantitative and qualitative phases to address the previously established research questions. The study is directly aligned with two of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advancing HIV Prevention's Initiative (AHPI) strategies which aim to further reduce HIV incidence by focusing on decreasing perinatal HIV transmission and reducing HIV transmission among HIV serodiscordant couples.
Public Health Relevance Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been instrumental in improving the quality and quantity of life for persons living with HIV and AIDS;and as individuals live longer, healthier lives, ART presents new possibilities for women who desire to reproduce. However, in the absence of assistant reproductive technologies (i.e. invitro fertilization, sperm washing, etc) which are not typically accessible for underserved populations, the process of conception and pregnancy for HIV positive women poses increased risks of transmission to women's partners (if uninfected) and infants. Thus, understanding factors that might influence a woman's decision to become pregnant such as the HIV serostatus of the partner, may lead to the development of appropriate public health educational interventions to decrease HIV transmission risks to their partners and infants.
| Fletcher, Faith; Ingram, Lucy Annang; Kerr, Jelani et al. (2016) ""Out of All of this Mess, I Got a Blessing"": Perceptions and Experiences of Reproduction and Motherhood in African American Women Living With HIV. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 27:381-91 |
