The starting point for this guideline is the point at which a woman has learnt that she is living with HIV, and it therefore covers key issues for providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights-related services and support for women living with HIV.
This study updated a previous systematic review and meta-analysis (1980–2010) on behavioral interventions promoting condom use among women living with HIV. The authors broadened the previous review, including newly published studies (2010–2014). They identified recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled studies investigating behavioral interventions that: included women living with HIV; focused on condom use promotion; presented/analyzed outcomes by gender; used a three-month follow-up or more; and considered at least one HIV-related behavioral or biological outcome.
Existing algorithms to screen for anal cancer in women living with HIV could be missing many cases of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) – abnormal tissue changes that may be a precursor to invasive anal cancer – according to a study reported at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2015) in Seattle, USA.
Data are from the South Africa HIV Antenatal Post-test Support Study. For HIV-positive women compared to HIV-negative women, the risk ratio of condom use was 1.66; for dual protection (use of a condom and a hormonal method) it was 1.96 in an urban clinic in Durban, South Africa. Our study contributes additional evidence that knowledge of HIV status may be an important motivating behavioral factor for women to use contraceptives and dual protection in the postpartum period.
UNICEF has produced a short animated video in English and French on life-long antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant women living with HIV.
The video is available here:
(ENGLISH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2vIVnpJhJk
(FRENCH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3GvABGtE4g
Intravenous (IV)-zidovudine (AZT or ZDV) during labour and delivery is effective in reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) among HIV-positive women with virological failure (viral load at or above 1000 copies/ml), even if on antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy, according to an analysis from the French Perinatal Cohort (ANRS-EPF) published in the advance online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
