Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues among HIV Positive Adolescents in Gweru Rural District in Zimbabwe: A cross-sectional study
Article Sidebar
Downloads
Submit your own article
Register as an author to reserve your spot in the next issue of the Medical Research Archives.
Author RegistrationJoin the Society
The European Society of Medicine is more than a professional association. We are a community. Our members work in countries across the globe, yet are united by a common goal: to promote health and health equity, around the world.
Join Europe’s leading medical society and discover the many advantages of membership, including free article publication.
MembershipMain Article Content
Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) issues among Adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) in Gweru rural district in Zimbabwe.
Design: A cross sectional mixed method research design was used with qualitative and quantitative methods.
Setting: The study was conducted in Gweru rural district community.
Subjects: A total of 112 questionnaires were administered to ALHIV, four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with ALHIV in Gweru rural district, and six key informant interviews with key informants were held at district and national levels.
Results: All respondents were not in relationships, while 94 percent lacked general understanding of relationships. All respondents reported that they were not sexually active, although 62 percent intend to have sex in future. Seventy-eight percent lacked comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission. Respondents were aware of few modern contraception methods namely female condoms (39 percent), male condoms (37 percent) and the pill (25 percent). Adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) mainly access HIV related services in Gweru rural district. There is limited access to SRH services besides HIV treatment as 41 percent of ALHIV reported talking to a health service provider about SRH issues such as sexuality, family planning, condoms, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and childbearing.
Conclusion: The key SRH issues facing ALHIV include lack of comprehensive knowledge on SRH issues, such as sexuality, relationships, prevention of HIV re-infection, pregnancy and childbearing and family planning. There is also limited access to SRH services. Adolescents living with HIV in Gweru rural district face barriers to accessing SRH services at policy, programmatic, community, family and individual levels.
Article Details
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
UNICEF. (2020). CHILDREN AND AIDS: Statistical Update 2017 (Issue December 2017). www.unicef.org.
UNICEF. (2016). Adolescents Living with HIV: Developing and Strengthening Care and Support Services. www.unicef.org/ceecis.
Obare, F., Kwaak, A. Van Der, Adieri, B., Owuor, D., Okoth, S., Musyoki, S., & Muga, E. (2010). HIV-positive Adolescents in Kenya: Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services. Bulletin 393, Amsterdam, KIT Publishers. HIV-positive adolescents in Kenya.
Birungi, H., Mugisha, J. F., Nyombi, J., Obare, F., Evelia, H., & Nyinkavu, H. (2008) Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Adolescents Perinatally Infected with HIV in Uganda. FRONTIERS Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council.
UNAIDS. (2013). Global Report: UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2013. In WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. UNAIDS.
ZIMSTAT and ICF International. (2016). Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2015. In Statistics. http://www.zimstat.co.zw/sites/default/files/img/publications/Health/ZDHS_2015.pdf
National AIDS Council. (2017). Extended Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2015-2020. https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/country/documents
Baryamutuma, R., & Baingana, F. (2011). Sexual, reproductive health needs and rights of young people with perinatally acquired HIV in Uganda. African Health Sciences, 11(2): 211–218.
Mburu, G., Hodgson, I., Kalibala, S., Haamujompa, C., Cataldo, F., Lowenthal, E. D., & Ross, D. (2014). Adolescent HIV disclosure in Zambia: Barriers, facilitators and outcomes. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 17, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.17.1.18866
Woog, V., Singh, S., Browne, A., & Philbin, J. (2015). Adolescent Women’s Need for and Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Developing Countries. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52: 517–522. http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca.
Mcleroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An Ecological Perspective on Health Promotion Programs. Health Education & Behavior, 15(4): 351–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818801500401
Venkatesh, V., Brown, S. A., & Bala, H. (2013). Bridging the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide: Guidelines for Conducting Mixed Methods Research in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 37(1): 1–23.
Creswell, John W. “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Research.” Microbe Magazine, vol. 4, no. 11, 2009, doi:10.1128/microbe.4.485.1.
15 Mzingwane, M. L., Mavondo, G. A., Mantula, F., Mapfumo, C., Gwatiringa, C., Moyo, B., Dube, P., & Chaibva, C. N. (2020a). HIV knowledge, risky behaviours and public health care services attendance among adolescents from the Grassroot soccer Zimbabwe programme. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05305-3
16UNAIDS. (2021). Global AIDS UPDATES Confronting Inequities. In Global AIDS Update.
17Adejumo, O. A., Malee, K. M., Ryscavage, P., Hunter, S. J., & Taiwo, B. O. (2015). Contemporary issues on the epidemiology and antiretroviral adherence of HIV-infected adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: A narrative review. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 18(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.18.1.20049
18Andrew, P., Bhuiyan, A. R., Mawson, A., & Shahbazi, M. (2019). Assessment of Attitudes toward HIV and AIDS among Undergraduate Students at a Historically Black University. Journal of AIDS and HIV Treatment, 1(2), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.33696/aids.1.006
19Bol, M., Dit, J., & Bodilsen, A. (2018). HIV/AIDS: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among adolescents in Nimule, South Sudan. South Sudan Medical Journal, 11(1), 13–16.
20Bylund, S., Målqvist, M., Peter, N., & Herzig van Wees, S. (2020). Negotiating social norms, the legacy of vertical health initiatives and contradicting health policies: a qualitative study of health professionals’ perceptions and attitudes of providing adolescent sexual and reproductive health care in Arusha and Kiliman. Global Health Action, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1775992
21Kimera, E., Vindevogel, S., Reynaert, D., Justice, K. M., Rubaihayo, J., de Maeyer, J., Engelen, A. M., Musanje, K., & Bilsen, J. (2020). Experiences and effects of HIV-related stigma among youth living with HIV/AIDS in Western Uganda: A photovoice study. PLoS ONE, 15(4), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232359
22Svodziwa M, Kurete F, N. L. (2016). Parental Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions towards Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Int. J. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Educ., 3(4), 62–71.
23Remez, L., Woog, V., & Mhloyi, M. (2014). Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Adolescents in Zimbabwe. Issues in Brief (Alan Guttmacher Institute), 3, 1–8.