Toward reducing unintended pregnancy in an HIV-positive population in the Dominican Republic
Abstract
Background: Unintended pregnancy is an important public health issue in the Dominican Republic, with many health consequences for the woman, her child, and her community. The importance is amplified in the HIV positive population where unintended pregnancy is responsible for a percentage of cases of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. Few interventions addressing this issue have been developed specifically for the HIV population. Methods: My family: Happy, healthy, and planned was developed using the intervention mapping approach in order to decrease unintended pregnancy within the HIV-positive population in the Dominican Republic. This approach incorporates extensive literature review, behavioral theory and methods, and community participation in all six steps of program planning. Results: Components were included to target increase in a woman's consistent and correct use of family planning, increase family planning promotion by health care providers, increase promotion of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) at all levels, increase partner acceptance of family planning, and increase integration of HIV and family planning services. A plan was also laid out for program adoption, implementation, sustainability and evaluation. The intervention could be implemented in full or in part by any facility that provides care to HIV-positive patients. Conclusions: Intervention mapping provides a systematic framework to help program planners develop a program that addresses the most important risk factors for unintended pregnancy and the behavioral determinants of those factors, through methods that have been shown through behavioral science and peer-reviewed literature to be effective. Additionally the framework provides guidance on how to involve the community at each level, improving the likelihood of successful adoption, implementation, and sustainability.
Subject Area
Public health
Recommended Citation
McKinney, Jennifer Robicheaux, "Toward reducing unintended pregnancy in an HIV-positive population in the Dominican Republic" (2014). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1566348.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1566348