Abstract

Family planning (FP) is a voluntary and informed decision by an individual or couple on the number of children to have and when
to have them, by use of modern or natural methods. In sub-Saharan Africa, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) get unplanned
pregnancies and experience negative effects of pregnancy on their health, which leads to poor obstetric outcomes, progression of
HIV, and new vertical pediatric HIV infections. Effective utilization of FP services by PLWHA can help address such emerging
public reproductive health concerns and overall improve maternal and child health outcomes in general. This study determined
factors that affect the utilization of modern family planning services among women of reproductive age living with HIV/AIDS
receiving care at Rukunyu Hospital, Kamwenge District. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Rukunyu Hospital
HIV clinic, Kamwenge District involving 309 women of reproductive age. Data was collected using a structured researcheradministered
questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Approximately 60% (212) of women of reproductive age living
with HIV were using modern contraceptives. The majority of respondents were aged 20-29 years (50.6 %), and commonly used
injectables (56.7%) from the hospital family planning clinic (47.3%). Protestant women who had more than four children, completed
tertiary education and those who had been counseled about family planning were more likely to utilize modern family planning
methods than their counterparts in other religious faith and social categories. There were low levels of utilization of contraceptives,
with injectables as the most used method, and family planning counseling was associated with increased contraceptive uptake
among women with HIV. More efforts are needed to sensitize and provide modern contraceptives targeting the illiterate, youth
under 20 years, and believers from different religious sects to increase utilization among women of reproductive age living with
HIV.