Preventive Service Needs of Young People Perinatally Infected With HIV in Uganda

Toward the goal of identifying the preventive service needs of young people born with HIV, the current study examines the sexual expressions and experiences, as well as the preventive practices, of 732 males and females, ages 15 to 19, who were perinatally infected with the virus.

The data come from a 2007 project on the sexuality of perinatally infected young people carried out in four districts of Uganda: Kampala, Wakiso, Masaka, and Jinja. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the analysis. The quantitative approach entailed cross-tabulations with chi-square tests as well as significance tests of proportions; the qualitative approach involved an analysis of individual case stories, in-depth probes, and focus group discussions for content.

The findings revealed disconnects between:

• the information service providers give to young people, and their actual needs and desires;
• adolescents' fears and their actual preventive practices; and
• the high level of reported condom use and the frequency of use.

"Programs will therefore need to recognize that young people perinatally infected with HIV are sexually active or anticipate being so in the future," the authors concluded. "Thus, both sexually active and non-sexually active young people require information and services on prevention of unwanted pregnancies as well as avoiding infecting their sexual partners with HIV and re-infecting themselves. Programs will need to devise ways of responding to these needs which should include emphasizing the disclosure of HIV status to the partner as well as the need to accompany any such disclosure with consistent condom use."

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