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Reproductive Desires and Considerations of HIV-Positive Men in Heterosexual Relationships in New York City

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Abstract

The reproductive desires of HIV-positive men have been investigated far less than those of HIV-positive women, especially in the US. This qualitative study of a sample of 94 HIV-positive men in New York City who were in a relationship with a woman of reproductive age examined their reasons for wanting a child as well as the conditions under which they would feel ready to attempt conception. Participants felt a child would make them feel normal, give meaning to their lives, or make others in their life happy. Although they reported HIV-related concerns (i.e., horizontal or vertical transmission, reinfection, or shortened life expectancy), participants mostly discussed factors unrelated to HIV (e.g., finances, housing, incarceration, substance abuse, or relationships) as deterrents to acting on their desire to having a child. When providing information on safer conception, healthcare providers should be aware of the broad desires and factors informing HIV-positive men’s reproductive goals.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported in part by a Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development from the National Institutes of Health [HD058338].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, 722 West 168th Street, 9th Fl., New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Karolynn Siegel, Étienne Meunier & Helen-Maria Lekas

  2. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Jack Ume Tocco

  3. Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA

    Helen-Maria Lekas

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  1. Karolynn Siegel
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  2. Étienne Meunier
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Correspondence to Karolynn Siegel.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human subjects were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its latter amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Siegel, K., Meunier, É., Tocco, J.U. et al. Reproductive Desires and Considerations of HIV-Positive Men in Heterosexual Relationships in New York City. AIDS Behav 22, 1736–1749 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1864-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1864-9

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