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Jill Durocher

Policy Maker and Health Care Provider Perspectives on Reproductive Decision-Making Amongst HIV-Infected Individuals in South Africa

Published
October 5th, 2007
Type
Publication
Topic
STIs, HIV, Infectious Disease
Authors
Harries, J., Cooper, D., Myer, L., Bracken, H., Zweigenthal, V., Orner, P.

BMC Public Health; 2007 Oct 5; 7:282; doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-282

Background: Worldwide there is growing attention paid to the reproductive decisions faced by HIV-infected individuals. Studies in both developed and developing countries have suggested that many HIV-infected women continue to desire children despite knowledge of their HIV status. Despite the increasing attention to the health care needs of HIV-infected individuals in low resource settings, little attention has been given to reproductive choice and intentions. Health care providers play a crucial role in determining access to reproductive health services and their influence is likely to be heightened in delivering services to HIV-infected women. We examined the attitudes of health care policy makers and providers towards reproductive decision-making among HIV-infected individuals.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 health care providers at two public sector health care facilities located in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, 12 in-depth interviews with public sector policy makers and managers, and managers within HIV/AIDS and reproductive health NGOs were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.

Results: Providers and policy makers approached the issues related to being HIV-infected and child bearing differently. Biomedical considerations were paramount in providers' approaches to HIV infection and reproductive decision-making, whereas, policy makers approached the issues more broadly recognizing the structural constraints that inform the provision of reproductive health care services and the possibility of "choice" for HIV-infected individuals.

Conclusion: The findings highlight the diversity of perspectives among policy makers and providers regarding the reproductive decisions taken by HIV-infected people. There is a clear need for more explicit policies recognizing the reproductive rights and choices of HIV-infected individuals.