RESEARCH ARTICLE
Condom Use Determinants and Practices Among People Living with HIV in Kisii County, Kenya
Wamalwa Emmanuel*, 1, Neyole Edward2, Poipoi Moses3, Ringera William4, Otomu Geoffrey5, Bitok Monicah6, Mbaluka Rosemary1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 9
First Page: 104
Last Page: 111
Publisher ID: TOAIDJ-9-104
DOI: 10.2174/1874613601509010104
Article History:
Received Date: 19/7/2015Revision Received Date: 21/8/2015
Acceptance Date: 26/8/2015
Electronic publication date: 13/11/2015
Collection year: 2015
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
The male condom remains the single, most efficient and available technology to reduce sexual transmission of HIV as well as sexually transmitted infections. This study sought to establish condom use determinants and practices among people living with HIV (PLHIVs) in Kisii County, Kenya. We interviewed 340 PLHIVs and 6 health workers. Although most PLHIVs had correct knowledge and approved condoms as effective for HIV prevention, consistent use and condom use at last sex were notably low especially among PLHIVs aged 18 – 24, those who depended on remittances from kin as main source of income, as well as during sex with secondary and casual partners. This study notes that knowledge on various benefits of using condoms is associated with enhanced condom use practices. Non-disclosure of HIV status to secondary and casual partners remains a key barrier to condom use among PLHIVs Our observations highlight the need to further promote condom use among specific PLHIVs socio-demographic groups who continue to exhibit low condom use rates.
