Caitlin Bernard,
Shukri A. Hassan,
John Humphrey,
Julie Thorne,
Mercy Maina,
Beatrice Jakait,
Evelyn Brown,
Nashon Yongo,
Caroline Kerich,
Sammy Changwony,
Shirley Rui W. Qian,
Andrea J. Scallon,
Sarah A. Komanapalli,
Leslie A. Enane,
Patrick Oyaro,
Lisa L. Abuogi,
Kara Wools-Kaloustian &
Rena C. Patel
Abstract
Results: We analyzed 1,402 surveys and 15 in-depth interviews. Many (32%) CL participants reported greater difficulty refilling medications and a minority (14%) reported greater difficulty accessing HIV care during the pandemic. Most (99%) Opt4Mamas participants reported no difficulty refilling medications or accessing HIV/pregnancy care. Among the CL participants, older women were less likely (aOR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98) and women with more children were more likely (aOR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00–1.28) to report difficulty refilling medications. Only 2% of CL participants reported greater difficulty managing FP and most (95%) reported no change in likelihood of using FP or desire to get pregnant. Qualitative analysis revealed three major themes: (1) adverse organizational/economic implications of the pandemic, (2) increased importance of pregnancy prevention during the pandemic, and (3) fear of contracting COVID-19.