Assessing the effect of hormonal contraception on HIV acquisition in observational data: challenges and recommended analytic approaches

Determining whether hormonal contraception (HC), particularly the injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), increases a woman's risk of HIV acquisition is a priority question for public health. However, assessing the relationship between various HC methods and HIV acquisition with observational data involves substantial analytic design issues and challenges. Studies to date have used inconsistent approaches and generated a body of evidence that is complex and challenging to interpret