Unprotected sexual practices and associated factors among adult people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in public hospitals of Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) significantly increases the life expectancy of HIV positive people by improving quality of life as well as enabling them to resume sexual activity. A growing number of people living with HIV became a source of exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including other strains of HIV that place others at risk unless they consistently use condoms. This study assessed the magnitude of unprotected sexual practices and associated factors among adult people living with HIV on ART in public hospitals of the Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: a facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adult people living with HIV on ART in public hospitals of the zone from March 1-30, 2016. Data were collected by a pretested and structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to investigate variables, independently associated with the outcome variable. The adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI used to show the strength of the association and a P-value < 0.05 was used to declare the cut-off point in determining the level of significance. RESULTS: the study revealed that 40.9% of respondents practiced unprotected sexual intercourse. On multivariate logistic regression analyses, being females, having more than one sexual partner, mean monthly income of <530 Ethiopian birrs/ month, those who had a seropositive partner, a partner of unknown serostatus, and respondents who had insufficient knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention were statically significant with the outcome variable. CONCLUSION: the scarcity of knowledge on HIV transmission, negative attitude towards condom use, non-disclosure status and having more than one sexual partnership increased likelihood of have unprotected sex among the respondents.