Skip to main content

Table 2 Percentage of participants correctly answering each item of the safer conception method awareness scale (correct responses in bold)

From: Relationship, partner factors and stigma are associated with safer conception information, motivation, and behavioral skills among women living with HIV in Botswana

Questions about SC in general and specific SC methods

True

False

Don’t know

1. It is possible for an HIV-positive woman to have an HIV-negative baby.

93.5%

2.5%

3.9%

2. HIV antiretroviral medications can reduce the risk of passing HIV to a baby.

89.0%

3.9%

7.0%

3. There are ways to make conception with an HIV-positive partner safer.

85.4%

2.8%

11.8%

4. There are ways to make conception with an HIV-negative partner safer.

85.7%

4.5%

9.8%

5. All options to make conception safer are very expensive.

10.4%

75.0%

14.6%

6. Waiting until one’s CD4 count is higher will reduce the risk of health complications to the mother during pregnancy.

77.3%

12.1%

10.7%

7. Having a sexually transmitted infection will increase the risk of passing HIV to an uninfected partner during unprotected sex.

87.9%

5.1%

7.0%

8. There are times during a woman’s cycle when she is most fertile (likely to become pregnant).

73.9%

5.1%

21.1%

9. Healthcare providers can offer advice to help make childbearing safer for women, their partners, and their children.

90.7%

4.2%

5.1%

10. If an HIV-positive person has an undetectable amount of HIV virus, it means that person is no longer able to infect someone else.

30.6%

51.7%

17.7%

11. Having the man ejaculate into condom/ container and manually inject semen into woman’s vagina is a way to reduce risk of HIV transmission if man is HIV-negative.

40.2%

16.9%

43.0%

12. Only having unprotected sex during the few days each month when the woman is most fertile will help to reduce the risk of HIV transmission to an uninfected partner.

18.0%

53.7%

28.4%

13. There is technology available that can cleanse a man’s sperm or semen of the HIV virus.

10.7%

32.6%

56.7%

14. Starting to take HIV medications early (as soon as diagnosed) helps reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to a sexual partner.

61.5%

25.8%

12.6%

15. HIV medications can be taken by an HIV-positive partner who wants to conceive with an HIV-negative partner in order to reduce the chance of transmitting HIV to the negative partner.

64.3%

18.5%

17.1%

16. HIV medications can be taken by an HIV-negative (or unknown status) partner that will reduce their risk of getting infected by their HIV-positive partner.

34.3%

46.6%

19.1%

17. An HIV-negative man can be circumcised as a way to reduce the chance of the man getting HIV during unprotected sex when a couple is trying to get pregnant.

82.6%

9.0%

8.4%

Mean score (SD) for awareness of SC methods (scale range 0-17)

11.0 (2.8)

 

Median score for awareness of SC methods

11

Â