HIV-related knowledge and practices: a cross-sectional study among adults aged 50 years and above in Botswana

Abstract

Background: Older adults in Botswana have been shown to be sexually active and engage in risky sexual activities that make them vulnerable to HIV infection. In order to implement meaningful interventions to address older adults’ HIV and AIDS concerns it is important to understand how much knowledge they have concerning HIV and AIDS and practices. This study explored the knowledge of HIV and AIDS and sexual practices of 609 older adults in Botswana.Methods: The study was cross-sectional and used a survey design. A total of 609 older adults were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) from four purposively selected health districts and interviewed on their individual HIV and AIDS-related knowledge and practices. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression.Results: Although knowledge of HIV and AIDS was high (95.7%), knowledge of HIV infection through blood transfusion, transmission from mother to child, or sharing needles or syringes was lacking. Only 72% of...