Community attitude towards the reproductive rights and sexual life of people living with HIV/AIDS in Olorunda Local Government Area, Osogbo, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Globally, the Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic remains a major public health problem. In most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS has already reversed the post-independence developmental gains. PURPOSE: This study assessed community attitudes regarding the reproductive rights and sexual life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria. DESIGN AND METHODS: In a community-based descriptive cross-sectional study, the sample size calculation was based on the assumption that 67% of the target population has a negative attitude regarding the reproductive rights of PLWHA; a confidence interval (CI) of 95% was used. A minimum sample size of 340 was obtained using the formula n = Z(2)pq/d(2). An anticipated 10% nonresponse rate was added to obtain a sample size of 374; a multistage sampling technique was utilized to select a total of 450 respondents. Data collected through a semistructured standardized and pretested questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 15. RESULTS: The study revealed that 283 (66.6%) and 142 (33.4%) of respondents were urban and rural dwellers, respectively. Mean age of respondents was 28.7 years ± 2.2 years. Four hundred and two (94.6%) respondents were aware of HIV/AIDS, and 88.7% had knowledge of at least six different modes of HIV/AIDS transmission. About 30.7% of respondents had discriminatory and stigmatizing attitudes towards PLWHA, and 50.9% and 44.8% had negative attitudes towards their sexual and reproductive rights, respectively. There were significant associations between gender, marital status, educational status, occupation, and residential area of respondents and their attitude towards the reproductive and sexual right of PLWHA (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Discriminatory and stigmatizing attitudes to PLWHA found among respondents translated into a negative attitude regarding the reproductive and sexual rights of PLWHA. There is an urgent need to institute programs for raising community awareness about the rights of PLWHA, especially in rural areas, and to strengthen legislative provisions for protecting and preserving the reproductive rights of PLWHA.