Low partner testing in high HIV prevalence setting in Freetown, Sierra Leone: a retrospective study.
BMC Res Notes
; 12(1): 629, 2019 Sep 24.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31551091
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Despite a 1.5% National HIV prevalence, less than 40% of people living with HIV in Sierra Leone know their status. Limited activities on testing partners of HIV patients could be contributory to this substantial unawareness of HIV status. We carried out a retrospective study aimed at assessing partner testing and HIV prevalence among adults (≥ 15 years) tested using Determine™ and SD Bioline as recorded in the HIV testing registers from January to December 2017 at Connaught Hospital, an urban tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone.RESULTS:
Of the 3808 clients tested for HIV, 2048 (53.8%) were females. The median age was 31 (IQR 24-42) years and 2104 (55.3%) were single. While 3014 (79.1%) had Provider-Initiated Testing and Counseling (PITC), 794 (20.9%) had Client-Initiated Testing and Counseling (CITC). HIV test was positive in 925 (24.3%) {CI 22.9-25.6, P < 0.001} clients. Of the 17 (0.4%) partners tested for HIV, 9 (52.9%) were positive. PITC yielded more HIV positive cases (760, 25.2%) than CITC (165, 20.8%). Partner testing (P = 0.007), female sex (P < 0.001) and PITC (P = 0.006) were associated with a positive HIV diagnosis. With high HIV prevalence and low partner testing, activities on partner testing are needed to improve the response to the epidemic.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Parejas Sexuales
/
Aceptación de la Atención de Salud
/
Infecciones por VIH
/
Tamizaje Masivo
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Límite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Res Notes
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Sierra Leona