Factors Associated with Ever Being HIV-Tested in Zimbabwe
INTRODUCTION:
Zimbabwe
has a high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden. It is therefore important
to scale up HIV-testing and counseling (HTC) as a gateway to HIV prevention,
treatment and care.
OBJECTIVE:
To
determine factors associated with being HIV-tested among adult men and women in
Zimbabwe.
METHODS:
Secondary
analysis was done using data from 7,313 women and 6,584 men who completed
interviewer-administered questionnaires and provided blood specimens for HIV
testing during the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2010-11.
Factors associated with ever being HIV-tested were determined using
multivariate logistic regression.
RESULTS:
HIV-testing
was higher among women compared to men (61% versus 39%). HIV-infected
respondents were more likely to be tested compared to those who were
HIV-negative for both men [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.53; 95% confidence
interval (CI) (1.27-1.84)] and women [AOR = 1.42; 95% CI (1.20-1.69)]. However,
only 55% and 74% of these HIV-infected men and women respectively had ever been
tested. Among women, visiting antenatal care (ANC) [AOR = 5.48, 95% CI
(4.08-7.36)] was the most significant predictor of being tested whilst a novel
finding for men was higher odds of testing among those reporting a sexually
transmitted infection (STI) in the past 12 months [AOR = 1.86, 95%CI
(1.26-2.74)]. Among men, the odds of ever being tested increased with age ≥20
years, particularly those 45-49 years [AOR = 4.21; 95% CI (2.74-6.48)] whilst
for women testing was highest among those aged 25-29 years [AOR = 2.01; 95% CI
(1.63-2.48)]. Other significant factors for both sexes were increasing
education level, higher wealth status and currently/formerly being in union.
CONCLUSIONS:
There
remains a high proportion of undiagnosed HIV-infected persons and hence there
is a need for innovative strategies aimed at increasing HIV-testing,
particularly for men and in lower-income and lower-educated populations.
Promotion of STI services can be an important gateway for testing more men
whilst ANC still remains an important option for HIV-testing among pregnant
women.
By: Takarinda KC1,2, Madyira LK1, Mhangara M1, Makaza V3, Maphosa-Mutsaka M3, Rusakaniko S4,5, Kilmarx PH6, Mutasa-Apollo T1, Ncube G1, Harries AD2,7.
- 1AIDS and TB Department, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- 2International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France.
- 3National AIDS Council, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- 4Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- 5Centre for Research and Training in Clinical Epidemiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- 6Division of Global HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Harare, Zimbabwe.
- 7Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
- PLoS One. 2016 Jan 25;11(1):e0147828. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147828. eCollection 2016.
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