Beyond Prevention: Optimizing Reproductive Health Choices for People Living with HIV in India - A Look at Contraceptive Use and Unmet Need from National Family Health Survey -4 data.

Problem considered: There is limited analysis on family planning needs among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in India.Although the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) provides national estimates of unmet need for family planning, these data are rarely analyzed separately for PLHIV.This study aimed to describe contraceptive use in PLHIV and estimate the unmet need for family planning among WLHIV by analysing data from NFHS-4. Methods:This study analysed secondary data from India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).Data for 546 individuals identified as HIV-positive were disaggregated by sex.Contraceptive knowledge and practices were assessed using variables related to awareness of contraceptive methods and current contraceptive use among PLHIV.Results: Among 546 individuals identified as HIV-positive in NFHS-4, 51% (n=278) were women, with a mean age of 35.089.3years.Although awareness regarding modern contraceptives was high (98.7%,n=539), about 61.4% (n=335) were not currently using any contraceptive method.Among the 278 Women living with HIV(WLHIV), 6.8%(n=19) had an unmet need for contraception, of which 1.1%(n=3) were for spacing, and 5.9% (n=16) were for limiting contraceptive methods.A higher proportion of unmet needs was observed among WLHIV aged more than 30 years, urban residence, lower income quartiles, which may be interpreted cautiously given limited number of WLHIV with unmet needs. Conclusion:Although PLHIV were aware of contraceptive methods, their utilisation remained low.Unmet need for family planning was present among women living with HIV, particularly for limiting births.Strengthening integration of family planning services within the National AIDS and STI Control J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Programme may help address contraceptive needs and promote dual protection among women living with HIV.