Sexual behavior and reproductive health among HIV-infected patients in urban and rural South Africa.

Background: With the rollout of antiretroviral therapy in South Africa and its potential to prolong the lives of HIV-infected individuals, understanding the sexual behavior of HIV-positive people is essential to curbing secondary HIV transmission.

Methods: We surveyed 3,819 HIV-positive patients during their first visit to an urban wellness clinic and a rural wellness clinic.

Results: Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to have current regular sex partners (75.1% vs. 46.0%; chi2 odds ratio [OR] = 3.531; P < 0.001), to have any current sexual partners (75.3% vs. 51.2%; chi2 OR = 2.908; P < 0.001), and to report consistent condom use with regular partners (78.4% vs. 48.3%; chi2 OR = 3.886; P < 0.001) and with casual partners (68.6% vs. 48.3%; chi2 OR = 2.337; P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of consistent condom use with regular partners included across gender, urban residence, and higher education levels; for women, disclosure and younger age; and for men only, no history of alcohol consumption. Male and female participants with a casual sexual partner were less likely to use a condom consistently with regular partners. Additionally, urban residence and a CD4 count greater than 200 cells/mm as well as (for women only) a higher household income and a history of alcohol consumption were predictors of having a regular sexual partner.

Conclusions: HIV prevention programs in South Africa that emphasize the importance of condom use and disclosure and are tailored to the needs of their attending populations are critical given the potential for HIV-infected individuals to resume risky sexual behavior with improving health.