Abstract
BackgroundHigh mother-to-child (MTC) transmission rate of HIV might contribute to the increased pandemic rate. The aim of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitude and practices of health personnel working in maternities in the prevention of MTC transmission of HIV.MethodsThis cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out from 20th February to 30th April, 2017. All health personnel working in the maternity wards were included in this study. The variables recorded included their age, grade, experience (number of year of practice), gender, educational level, health structure and the training in prevention of MTC transmission of HIV. Analyses were done using SPSS 21.0. The Pearson Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression were used for comparison. The level of significance was P < 0.05.ResultsA total of 140 health personnel were recruited. Knowledge was insufficient amongst 73 of them (52.1%). The factors significantly associated with sufficient knowledge were midwifery qualification (aOR 9.01, 95% CI 1.82–48.60) and training in prevention of MTC transmission of HIV (aOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.02–4.81). Regarding attitudes, it was negative in 85 practitioners (60.7%). Only those aged ≥33 years were significantly associated with a positive attitude (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.14–4.23). As concerns practices, only 32 practitioners (22.9%) had good practices. Only midwives were associated with good practices (aOR 3.23, 95% CI 1.21–9.95).ConclusionInsufficient knowledge, attitude and practices in the prevention of MTC transmission of HIV were observed among the majority of health personnel in the region. This lack of knowledge in prevention can therefore contribute to the rise of the mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV. To reduce this rate, more health personnel should be trained, especially midwives, in the prevention of MTC transmission of HIV. Moreover, deliveries of all women living with HIV should be conducted or at least supervised by trained midwives, especially those of at least 33 years of age.
Highlights
High mother-to-child (MTC) transmission rate of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) might contribute to the increased pandemic rate
A number of 178 health personnel were interviewed, 38 were excluded either because they found the questionnaire difficult, refused to participate (17 cases), they had less than one year experience (9 cases) or they wanted to fill the form at home and to return it two to four days later (12 cases)
Deliveries of all women living with HIV should be conducted, or at least supervised by midwives, especially those aged at least 33 years
Summary
High mother-to-child (MTC) transmission rate of HIV might contribute to the increased pandemic rate. The use of antiretroviral drugs (ARV) has considerably reduced the mortality from HIV infection, at least in some countries [2, 3]. This reduced mortality rate observed since 2005 is associated with an increased life expectancy which can contribute to the increase of the pandemic rate [1, 4]. The HIV pandemic rate might continue to rise due to persistence of the mother-to-child (MTC) transmission [5]. More women living with HIV are expected to be received in the maternity units
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