Abstract
BackgroundDisclosure of Human Immune Virus (HIV) serostatus by pregnant and lactating women is crucial for the successful prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS. However, little has been studied regarding the prevalence and factors associated with HIV status disclosure among HIV positive pregnant and lactating women in Ethiopia.MethodsAn institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Nekemte Public Health facilities among 380 pregnant and lactating women enrolled in universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment from January 2015-December, 2019. The data were collected by using a checklist, developed from Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) logbook, ART intake forms, and medical cards of the patients. Epidata version 3.2 was used for data entry, and then the data were exported to STATA version 14 for further analysis. The binary logistic regression model was employed to determine factors associated with the disclosure status among HIV positive pregnant and lactating women. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals was computed and statistical significance was declared when it is significant at a 5% level (p-value < 0.05).ResultsA total of 380 women have participated in the study. Two hundred seventy-six (73.4%) of women had disclosed their HIV status to at least one individual. The study found living in urban (OR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.20), married women (OR = 4.16, 95% CI: 1.87, 9.24), higher educational status (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.31, 5.51), positive HIV status of partner (OR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.70), and being multipara (OR = 4.94, 95% CI: 2.29, 10.66) were independent determinants of HIV status disclosure.ConclusionsHIV status disclosure among pregnant and lactating women in the study area was sub-optimal. Empowering women through education, encouraging partners for HIV testing, and enhancing active male involvement in HIV treatment and control programs should get due attention.
Highlights
Human Immune Virus (HIV) disclosure is defined as the act of telling to a third party that someone is seropositive
A total of 380 women have participated in the study
The study found living in urban (OR = 1.83, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.04, 3.20), married women (OR = 4.16, 95% CI: 1.87, 9.24), higher educational status (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.31, 5.51), positive HIV status of partner (OR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.70), and being multipara (OR = 4.94, 95% CI: 2.29, 10.66) were independent determinants of HIV status disclosure
Summary
HIV disclosure is defined as the act of telling to a third party that someone is seropositive. These acts can either be ‘voluntary’ (by the initiative of a person living with HIV) or ‘involuntary’ (when the seropositivity status is disclosed to the third party without the consent of the person living with HIV) [1]. An increasing number of pregnant women are being tested for HIV worldwide as efforts to decrease perinatal HIV transmission [3]. HIV-positive test in the context of antenatal care typically differ in a way that pregnant women test positive when they may feel healthy, rather than through voluntary counseling and testing or provider-initiated testing [4]
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