Predictors of recent HIV testing among male street laborers in urban Vietnam

Correlates of uptake of HIV testing among children and young adolescents in Akwa-Ibom state, Nigeria: a secondary data analysis of the Akwa-Ibom aids indicator survey, 2017

Background

In order to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, there is a need to significantly reduce the rate of new infection among children and young adolescents. Identifying the correlates of testing behaviour is necessary to improve HIV testing campaigns by refining messages that target individuals in this age group. The objective of this study was to determine the correlates of HIV testing among children and young adolescents in Akwa-Ibom, Nigeria.

Methods

The outcome was a secondary data analysis of the 2017 Akwa-Ibom AIDS Indicator Survey. Data of 4037 children and young adolescents aged 0–14 years was assessed in this study. Analysis was done using STATA version 16. Chi-squared test and logistic regression models were used to measure association and its strength between uptake of HIV testing and some independent variables (child/caregiver’s age, sex, educational status, child’s location, caregiver’s knowledge of HIV and caregiver ever tested for HIV) at 5% significance level.

Results

Result showed that only 14.2% of the children and young adolescents have been tested for HIV. Previous history of blood transfusion (AOR = 5.33, 95%C.I = 2.60–10.92, P = < 0.001), caregiver’s level of education (AOR = 2.67, 95%C.I = 1.30–5.51, P = 0.008) and caregiver ever tested for HIV (AOR = 8.31, 95%C.I = 5.67–12.19, P = < 0.001) were significantly associated with uptake of HIV testing.

Conclusion

This study concludes that a large proportion of children and young adolescents in Akwa-Ibom state have never been tested for HIV. There is a need for HIV testing interventions to be targeted towards this age groups and their parents/guardian. Addressing the knowledge gap amongst caregivers especially in rural areas is crucial towards improving the effectiveness of HIV testing interventions.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-02495-5.

Factors Affecting the Uptake of HIV Testing among Men: A Mixed-Methods Study in Rural Burkina Faso

Background

This study aimed to explore factors shaping the decision to undergo Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing among men in rural Burkina Faso.

Methods

The study took place in 2009 in the Nouna Health District and adopted a triangulation mixed methods design. The quantitative component relied on data collected through a structured survey on a representative sample of 1130 households. The qualitative component relied on 38 in-depth interviews, with men purposely selected to represent variation in testing decision, age, and place of residence. A two-part model was conducted, with two distinct outcome variables, i.e. “being offered an HIV test” and “having done an HIV test”. The qualitative data analysis relied on inductive coding conducted by three independent analysts.

Result

Of the 937 men, 357 had been offered an HIV test and 97 had taken the test. Younger age, household wealth, living in a village under demographic surveillance, and knowing that HIV testing is available at primary health facilities were all positively associated with the probability of being offered an HIV test. Household wealth and literacy were found to be positively associated, and distance was found to be negatively associated with the probability of having taken an HIV test. Qualitative findings indicated that the limited uptake of HIV testing was linked to poor knowledge on service availability and to low risk perceptions.

Conclusion

With only 10% of the total sample ever having tested for HIV, our study confirmed that male HIV testing remains unacceptably low in Sub-Saharan Africa. This results from a combination of health system factors, indicating general barriers to access, and motivational factors, such as one’s own knowledge of service availability and risk perceptions. Our findings suggested that using antenatal care and curative services as the exclusive entry points into HIV testing may not be sufficient to reach large portions of the male population. Thus, additional strategies are urgently needed to increase service uptake.

Barriers to and acceptability of provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling and adopting HIV-prevention behaviours in rural Uganda: a qualitative study

In Uganda, a nationwide scale-up of provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling presents an opportunity to deliver HIV-prevention services to large numbers of people. In a rural Ugandan hospital, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with outpatients receiving provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling and staff to explore the HIV-prevention information, motivation and behavioural skills strengths and weaknesses, and community-level and structural barriers to provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling acceptability and HIV prevention among this population. Strengths and weakness occurred at all levels, and results suggest brief client-centred interventions during provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling may be an effective approach to increase prevention behaviours in outpatient settings.