Background: In Uganda, there has been an increase in use of contraceptives by 6% from 2006 to 2011 among married women. During the same period HIV prevalence had gone up by 0.9%. Lack of use of contraceptives especially among persons living with HIV may escalate the spread of the virus. The purpose of the study was to determine the rate of contraceptive use and associated factors among persons receiving HIV care and treatment in Eastern Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 public hospitals of Mbale, Kapchorwa, Atutur and Pallisa in Eastern Uganda. In total, 300 respondents comprising of women aged (15–49) and men (15–54) years were interviewed using interviewer administered questionnaires. However, data from 298 respondents were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression at a = 0.05 in STATA statistical software (Version 10).

Results: Approximately 62% (185/298) of persons living with HIV had used contraceptives within the three months preceding the study. Among the significant predictors, higher proportions of female respondents aged 36–49 years used injectables and male aged 50–54 years used condoms (p = 0.030 and p = 0.034, respectively). Furthermore, higher proportions of respondents with primary, secondary and tertiary education levels were more likely to use condoms (p = 0.004, p = 0.000 and p = 0.005, respectively) compared with those who never went to school. Besides, condoms were being used by Protestants (p = 0.000) compared to Catholics and Muslims. Also, more female respondents (p = 0.000) used condoms with their partners compared with the male counterparts. The main barrier to contraceptive use among non-users was desire for more children.

Conclusion: More efforts are needed to sensitize and provide contraceptives targeting the illiterate clients, youth, men and believers from different religious sects to increase utilization.