| dc.description.abstract | This thesis focused on the sexuality of people living with HIV and AIDS and on Antiretroviral therapy. The study was conducted in Kibera informal settlements in Nairobi and the main objective was to investigate the sexual behaviour and practices of people living with HIV and AIDS and on ART. The study explored the challenges facing people living with HIV and AIDS in expressing their sexuality, practices that influence sexual pleasures and desires among people living with HIV and AIDS and the reproductive goals of people living with HIV and AIDS after regaining their health following the use of ART.
The study design was cross-sectional, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Survey questionnaires were administered to seventy three people living with HIV and AIDS and were on ART. Semi structured interviews, narratives, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were also conducted based on purposive sampling technique. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis technique.
The study findings suggest that people living with HIV and AIDS face challenges such as difficulty in finding a long term partner, having to abstain from certain sexual practices perceived to give sexual pleasure, and obstacles in bearing children when desired. The study also showed that people living with HIV and AIDS engage in various sexual practices to achieve sexual pleasure and desire. The findings further suggested that the health benefits of ART did not create the desire to marry or re-marry or to have children by the people on ART. It is concluded that as actors, people living with HIV and AIDS and are on ART have the ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights contrary to the common belief that HIV positive people do not have a sexual and reproductive life. | en_US |
