Awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and acceptance of HIV testing among residents in Likoma Island, northern Malawi

To evaluate the awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention education, and the acceptance of HIV testing among residents on Likoma Island, Malawi, a cross-sectional, population-based study of 579 residents aged ≥15 years from seven villages on Likoma Island was conducted during July and August 2007. Most of th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2009-09, Vol.103 (9), p.885-891
Main Authors: Chiang, Hung Che, Yu, Kwong Leung, Yap, Shue Fang, Goh, Kah Kheng, Mo, Meng Hsuan, Yang, Ta Wei, Ngo, Yeh Giin, Hsu, Shu Jung, Wu, Yi Ching, Lai, Chung Sheng, Ko, Ying Chin, Chang, Po Ya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - prevention & control
Adolescent
Adult
AIDS
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
Condoms
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
General aspects
Health education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
HIV
HIV Infections - diagnosis
HIV Infections - prevention & control
Human viral diseases
Humans
Immunodeficiencies
Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies
Immunopathology
Infectious diseases
Knowledge
Malawi
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Practice
Prevention
Surveys and Questionnaires
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To evaluate the awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention education, and the acceptance of HIV testing among residents on Likoma Island, Malawi, a cross-sectional, population-based study of 579 residents aged ≥15 years from seven villages on Likoma Island was conducted during July and August 2007. Most of the subjects studied could correctly answer questions about their awareness of AIDS and knowledge of the ways to reduce HIV transmission. Moreover, the proportion of respondents (65.8%) who possessed complete knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention was greater than the national average. By contrast, condom utilization was slightly lower. Our results also showed that a high proportion of respondents (70.3%) had been HIV tested at any time, 93.5% of them voluntarily. Among correlated factors, females [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–1.6] and polygamous individuals (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.5–7.0) were more likely to receive an HIV test. Past experience of being HIV tested was a strong predictor of possessing good knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS prevention. We conclude that antiretroviral treatment provided by Likoma District Hospital has led to the successful scale-up of HIV testing in Likoma Island and consequently improved the awareness of HIV/AIDS. However, the use of condoms remains largely unsupported, and there is therefore still a need to intensify general HIV/AIDS education on the island.
ISSN:0035-9203
1878-3503
DOI:10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.04.008