Utilization of Female Condoms among Women Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: To prevent the risk of transmission of the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as achieve family planning targets, the use of Female Condom, a women-initiated method, has been prioritized across the globe. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding the utilization of Female Condoms among HIV-positive women remains inconclusive. The main objective of this study was to determine the utilization of Female Condoms (FC) among HIV-positive women in Murang’a County, Kenya. Method: This study adopted a cross-sectional analytical survey design. A total of 204 women living with HIV (WLHIV) were recruited in the study. Multi-stage sampling was conducted to get three participating sub-counties and three clinics. Systematic sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select WLHIV. Structured questionnaires, interview schedules and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were generated using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The statistical significance of the association between categorical variables was determined using Pearson’s Chi-square test. The level of significance was fixed at a P-value of 0.05 level of significance (p ≤ 0.05). Results: 38.8% of the respondents were aged 31–40 years (Mean = 3.11; SD = 1.004). 42.2% of study participants had attained secondary education (mean = 2.05; SD = 0.899). FC use was low at 17.6% among the women living with HIV. There was a statistically significant association between the age of the respondents and the view that FC has the potential to prevent unwanted pregnancy (p = 0.002; χ2 = 17.246; df = 4). The relationship between marital status and “ever heard about FC” (p = 0.042; χ2 = 32.529; df = 5), “ever seen an FC” (p = 0.048; χ2 = 34.982; df = 5), “FC has a potential to prevent unwanted pregnancy” (p = 0.006; χ2 = 23.079; df = 5) was significant. Married women who were revealed to have seen FC were significantly associated with the current use of the FC (p = 0.001; χ2 = 12.852; df = 1). 26.5% of the participants put on FC as a measure to prevent HIV during sexual activities. Most married women did not know whether their sexual partner does not like them to use FC when having sex compared to separated, cohabiting, divorced or single WLHIV (p=0.034; χ2=7.949; df = 10). Conclusion: The relatively high knowledge among WLHIV does not translate to the use of FC for appropriate and consistent utilization of the device.