Factors associated with pregnancy uptake decisions among seropositive HIV people receiving antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.

AIM: This study determined the factors associated with pregnancy uptake decision among seropositive HIV people receiving antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. DESIGN: Systematic review. METHODS: The population, intervention, comparison and outcomes framework was adopted to search for literature after a scoping review using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines adopted in searching, and screening articles from four databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, and Google scholar) to find 12 articles suitable for this study. RESULTS: Motivators of pregnancy uptake among HIV-positive women include desire to have children, knowledge about PMTCT, cultural duty for married women to have children, and household income. Demotivating factors included the modern method of contraception and burden associated with pregnancy. CONCLUSION: There is a need to improve on services that reduce conception-related risks especially for women who choose to conceive and to incorporate fertility-related counselling into HIV treatment services.

Factors Influencing Sustained Utilization of Child Welfare Services among Children Aged 18 to 59 Months in a Low-Income Rural Community, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Despite substantial progress in reducing child mortality, concerted efforts remain necessary to avoid preventable deaths in children under-5 years and to accelerate progress in improving child survival. The patronage of child welfare services is paramount to the attainment of these goals. This study identified the factors that influence the patronage of child welfare services in a rural community in the Ho West District of the Volta region. Methodology. This quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design employed a systematic sampling method to select 310 caregivers of children aged 18 to 59 months in the Abutia Kloe subdistrict using a pretested questionnaire. The data were entered into a Microsoft excel spreadsheet and cleaned and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 22) for analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that children (44.2%) had defaulted at a point during the continued growth monitoring process. The reasons for the default included completed major immunization (72.3%), started school (57.4%), and poor staff attitude (3.2%). Mothers have an idea about the purpose of the growth chart (68.0%) as the mothers (86.5%) are able to access a child welfare clinic in less than thirty minutes' walk from their homes. The cross tabulation on level of education and regular CWC attendance showed a strong association (r 2 = 8.071, p ≤ 0.03). Cross tabulation on marital status and CWC attendance showed a positive significant association (r 2 = 17.307, df = 2, p ≤ 0.001). Married caregivers (85.2%) as compared with unmarried ones (60.5%) are more likely to seek child welfare services for their child. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers should intensify education on the need to continue growth monitoring up to 59 months even after the completion of major immunization. This goal can be attained if growth monitoring is incorporated into school health activities while policy implementers ensure the full execution.