Background

Intentional childbearing may place heterosexual couples at risk of HIV infection in resource-limited settings with high HIV prevalence areas where society places great value on having children.

Objective

To explore cognitive, cultural, and spatial mapping of sexual and reproductive health domains and services in western Kenya among men and women.

Design

Community-based formative qualitative study design.

Setting

Five administrative/geographical divisions of Nyando District, western Kenya.

Subjects

Adult men 18 years and older and women who were of reproductive-potential ages (15 to 49 years for females) (n=90).

Results

Men and women have disparate goals for number of children and engage in gendered patterns of protective method use (contraceptives used by women often in secret, condoms by men but rarely).

Conclusion

HIV infection was still seen as stigmatizing. These study results are relevant to design of effective integrated delivery for reproductive and HIV services in high-burden sub-Saharan African countries.