Comments from Author
Our South African colleague raises some key issues. Sexual violence and male involvement are important aspects of any FP/HIV initiative. All women with HIV, including those who encounter sexual violence, need access to health care providers who are knowledgeable about family planning and reproductive health in the context of HIV.
Providers can help women with HIV make informed reproductive health decisions and plan how to talk with their partners about contraception and safer sex. The World Health Organization counseling tool, “Reproductive Choices and Family Planning for People Living with HIV” offers guidance for providers to help women make informed choices and includes tips on talking with partners.
Does anyone have additional input on provider’s perceptions of counseling and providing care to women with HIV? In your experience, are providers aware that women with HIV can use nearly any family planning method? Do women with HIV encounter unnecessary medical barriers to family planning?
Catherine E. Richey, MPH
Senior Technical Writer
The INFO Project
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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