Experiences of HIV/AIDS women in planning their pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: HIV/AIDS has become a public health problem in many countries along with the increasing number of reported cases and the high mortality rate due to the HIV virus. The HIV virus can infect pregnant women, where pregnant women are at high risk of transmitting the virus to their babies. Transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child can be prevented by planning a pregnancy for HIV/AIDS women who want to get pregnant through the PMTCT (Prevention Mother to Child Transmission) program. In the midst of implementing the PMTCT program, the government is faced with the COVID-19 pandemic which causes the public to be advised to postpone pregnancy until the pandemic ends and counseling or consultation regarding family planning is done via telephone. The study aimed to determine the experiences of HIV/AIDS women in planning their pregnancies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: This research is a Qualitative research with a phenomenological approach which was conducted in March-April 2022 at the Victory Plus Foundation Yogyakarta. Data collection using in-depth interviews. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Participants in this study were women with HIV/AIDS who were pregnant during the Covid-19 pandemic and women with HIV/AIDS who had given birth with a maximum age of 6 months. Results: Researchers found 4 themes, which are the experience of women when diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, planning for pregnancy during the Covid-19 pandemic, the condition of pregnancy for women with HIV/AIDS, and social support for women with HIV/AIDS during pregnancy. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that some women with HIV/AIDS plan their pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic by discussing with their husbands, regularly taking ARVs, using the Calendar application to calculate the fertile period, and checking viral load and CD4 levels. © 2023, Sanglah General Hospital. All rights reserved.

The domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Scoping review

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unexpected challenges in all sectors of life, from the social, economical to health sectors, particularly public health. One of the most worrying effects of COVID-19 is the increase in cases of domestic violence. AIM: This scoping review was to determine trends in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for handling it. METHODS: We searched for relevant articles on four databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and EBSco) in English, published in 2019–2021. Of the 434 articles identified, six articles met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: There were six themes we got related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely: The number of cases of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic;risk factors for domestic violence;victims and perpetrators of domestic violence;types of domestic violence;the impact of domestic violence;and strategies for handling domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted domestic violence cases, where most victims were women, and most of them experienced recurrent domestic violence. Therefore, we recommend that future research be examined deeper into the understanding, experiences, and needs of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the roles of cross-sectors and obstacles experienced in handling domestic violence in the future. © 2021 Luluk Rosida, Intan Mutiara Putri, Komarudin Komarudin, Nurbita Fajarini, Endang Koni Suryaningsih.