HIV infection and pregnancy are both common among FSW, indicating the need for PMTCT.
Researchers enrolled in 1666 FSW in studies using respondent-driven sampling. Women completed interview-administered socio-behavioral surveys and HIV counseling and testing. This secondary analysis described contraceptive use and attempted pregnancy among reproductive-aged FSW. Robust Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations to account for clustering within recruitment networks was used to assess associations between current unmet contraceptive needs separately and attempted pregnancy among FSW.
One thousand three hundred seventy-two of the total sample size had ever been pregnant. In Togo and Burkina Faso, 83 FSW reported a prior HIV diagnosis and having a child, of which 12.1% reported a child known to be HIV-positive. Twenty-five percent of FSW had an unmet need for contraception; nine percent of FSW employed dual contraception. HIV-positive, undiagnosed FSW were more likely to be trying to conceive as compared to HIV-negative FSW; among 98 HIV-positive women trying to conceive, 25.5% were on antiretroviral therapy.
The study concluded that the FSW has varying reproductive goals and contraceptive usage. Efforts to improve comprehensive family planning coverage are necessary for PMTCT.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/43/1/50
