Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV among University Students, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Voluntary testing and counseling (VCT) is the process by which an individual undergoes confidential counseling, to enable the individual arrive at an informed choice with respect of learning his or her HIV status and advice on taking the appropriate action. It is vitally important and one of the national strategy to control HIV/AIDS epidemics in the general population and is internationally acknowledged as essential strategy for HIV prevention and entry point to HIV/ AIDS care. HIV/AIDS is a disease which affects the human immune system caused by infection with human immune deficiency virus. According to Ministry of Health, in Ethiopia the highest prevalence of HIV is seen in the age group 15-24 years. Objective: This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards HIV voluntary testing and counseling among undergraduate at the Wachemo University, southern Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study design was conducted at Wachemo University from February 10 to February 30/2018.Multistage sampling method was used to enroll students from different faculties. Main outcome measures included level of knowledge, attitude and practice of VCT for HIV. Results: A total of 623 students participated in the study yields the response rate of 100%. The majority, (91.2%) of respondents were heard about voluntary counseling and testing of HIV. More than half, (63.0%) of the students disagreed that voluntary counseling and testing of HIV service in the campus is not functional and not giving service appropriately. The majorities, (93.4%) of the study participants were knowledgeable about voluntary testing and counseling of HIV; and 491 (78.8%) of the study participants had positive attitude towards voluntary testing and counseling of HIV. However, only one thirds (36.7%) of the respondents had practiced voluntary testing and counseling of HIV. Conclusion: Despite high knowledge and favorable attitude towards VCT, more than half of the respondents (63.3%) don’t experienced HIV test, for the following reason: Fear of positive result (32.4%), stigmatization (15.9%), while (30.7%) being sure of not having HIV.

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Prevalence of Voluntary Counseling and Testing Utilization and Its Associated Factors among Bahirdar University Students

Advances in Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1155/2014/906107 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Getachew Fikadie ◽

Melkamu Bedimo ◽

Zelalem Alamrew

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Population Group ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sampling Procedure ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Voluntary Counseling ◽

Voluntary Counseling And Testing ◽

Counseling And Testing ◽

Hiv Test

Background.In Ethiopia university students are among the most sexually active and high HIV risk young population group but unfortunately VCT uptake was low (35%–38%) among this group. Examining the factors contributing to VCT uptake is vital to facilitate HIV prevention and control efforts.Objective.To assess the prevalence of voluntary counseling and testing utilization and its associated factors among Bahirdar University students in April 2012.Methods.Cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2012, among Bahirdar University students. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 801 students. Data were collected using pretested self-administered questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS version-16.Results.772 students (79.7% males) participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents’ was 21.3. From all respondents 37.8% of the study participants had undergone HIV test. Different variables showed significant association with VCT uptake.Conclusion.The major factors identified for increased VCT service utilization were having a friend who got VCT, having discussion about HIV/AIDS with family, origin of residence, year of study, and having boy- or girlfriend. Therefore, actions targeting these predictors are necessary to effectively enhance the use of the VCT services utilization among students.

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Factors Affecting HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing Uptake among Usndergraduate Students of Khartoum, Sudan

The Open AIDS Journal ◽

10.2174/1874613602115010021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 21-27

Author(s):

Ashraf Mohamed Abdalla ◽

Howeida H. Abusalih

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

University Students ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Age Group ◽

Voluntary Counseling ◽

Voluntary Counseling And Testing ◽

Counseling And Testing ◽

The Future

Background: HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services provide an importatnt start to HIV/AIDS prevention and care. The literature showed that the uptake of VCT is very low, and it is affected by many factors among university students, which are considered as high-risk group for HIV/AIDS infection. Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the factors that affect the uptake of voluntary counseling and testing among the undergraduate students. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students from the faculty of sciences at the Khartoum university with a sample size of 192. The students were selected by systematic random technique. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and data were entered and analyzed by using the SPSS (computer program). IRB approval was obtained from the University of Science and Technology, and informed consent was taken from all participants. Results: A total of 192 students participated in this study 107 (55.7%) male and 85 (44.3%) female. Out of these, 100 (52.1%) were in the age group of 15-20, while 92 (47.9%) were in the age group of 21-25. Regarding the knowledge about VCT; 149 (78%) students had good knowledge. The study revealed that about 17 (9%) of the students took the HIV test, and 118 (62%) expressed their willingness to uptake VCT in the future. Reasons that hindered HIV testing during this study include: 1) Some students did not consider themselves at risk (84 i.e. 44%), some students did not know the place where the test is provided (74 i.e. 38.%), some of them did not hear about VCT (32 i.e. 17%) and some were afraid of the test results (17 i.e. 32%). The study found that VCT uptake is positively associated with age, sexual intercourse, and considering themselves self at risk of HIV infection (p=0.05,0.00.0.03 respectively). Moreover, the study also found an association between willingness to uptake VCT in the future with sexual intercourse and considering themselves at risk of HIV of HIV infection (p = 0.03, 0.00 respectively). Conclusion: The uptake of VCT is very low among university students, and it is associated with age and risk perception and sexual intercourse. The most important factors include not considering themselves at risk or not knowing the place of testing or no knowledge about the test or the fear of being positive. On the other hand, willingness to uptake the test was considerably high.

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