Accessibility and use of HIV prevention services among people with disabilities in Burkina Faso and Niger

Abstract

ABSTRACT Our study aims to determine the predictors of access to HIV services among disabled persons in two West African countries. This was a secondary analysis from a cross-sectional study carried out in Burkina Faso, in 2017 and Niger, in 2018. People with a disability of severity 3 or 4 and aged 15–69 were included in the study. Access to HIV-related services was measured separately through three variables (access to condoms when needed, history of testing for HIV and ever attended at an HIV-related service). Factors associated with access to HIV-related services were identified using logistic regression. 1794 participants were recorded, including 973 in Burkina Faso and 821 in Niger. The ability to easily obtain a condom when needed was reported by 29.4% of respondents in Burkina Faso and 5.7% of respondents in Niger. The proportion of participants who had been tested for HIV was 32.2% in Burkina Faso and 13.6%. We observed that 5.7% and 3.5% of the participants were in contact with an HIV-related service. Only educational status was associated with access to HIV prevention services in both countries. There is a need to increase the access to HIV prevention for disabled persons in the two countries.