Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, USA.
BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 19;24(1):416. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09068-8.
HIV/AIDS is a global health challenge and continues to threaten lives in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana. One of the important interventions for controlling its transmission is through testing and receiving medication. In this study, we present findings on the prevalence and factors associated with HIV testing among young women in Ghana.
We used data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey comprising young women aged 15-24 years. We calculated the proportion of these young women who have ever been tested for HIV. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the determinants of HIV testing at a 95% confidence interval (CI), and adjusted odds ratio (aORs) and p-values were reported. All analyses were adjusted using survey weights to account for unequal sampling probabilities.
The results showed that 31.4% (95% CI [29.63, 32.81]) of young women in Ghana had tested for HIV. The odds of HIV testing were likely to be higher among young women aged 20-24 (aOR = 2.24, 95% CI [1.75, 2.87]), those who were pregnant (aOR = 3.17, 95% CI [2.03, 4.95]) and those with one (aOR = 7.99, 95% CI [5.72, 11.17]), two (aOR = 10.43, 95% CI [6.47, 16.81]) or three or more children (aOR = 14.60, 95% CI [8.37, 25.48]) compared to their counterparts in the reference category. Women who had attained secondary education or higher (aOR = 2.66, 95% CI [1.67, 4.23]), were sexually active (aOR = 2.82, 95% CI [2.00, 3.97]), and in richer (aOR = 1.98, 95% CI [1.17, 3.34]) and richest wealth index (aOR = 1.99, 95% CI [1.10, 3.61]) were more likely to test for HIV than those with no formal education, who had not had sex before or in the poorest wealth index. Women from the Eastern (aOR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.04,2.72]) and Upper East regions (aOR = 2.62, 95% CI [1.44, 4.75]) were more likely than those in the Western region to get tested for HIV. However, the odds of testing for HIV were lower among women belonging to other religions (aOR = 0.43, 95% CI [0.23,0.82]) than Christians.
The findings show that HIV testing is low among young women in Ghana. To address this issue, it is recommended that both government and non-governmental organizations collaborate to create effective programmes and strategies. These may include continuous health education, regular sensitization programs and making HIV testing services much more accessible and affordable, taking into consideration the sociodemographic characteristics of young women.
艾滋病是全球卫生挑战，继续威胁撒哈拉以南非洲国家（如加纳）的生命。控制其传播的重要干预措施之一是通过检测和接受药物治疗。在这项研究中，我们介绍了加纳年轻女性中艾滋病毒检测的流行情况和相关因素。
我们使用了 2014 年加纳人口与健康调查的数据，该调查包括年龄在 15-24 岁的年轻女性。我们计算了这些年轻女性中曾经接受过艾滋病毒检测的比例。使用多变量逻辑回归分析评估了 95%置信区间（CI）的 HIV 检测决定因素，并报告了调整后的优势比（aOR）和 p 值。所有分析均使用调查权重进行调整，以考虑到不等的抽样概率。
结果显示，加纳 31.4%（95%CI [29.63, 32.81]）的年轻女性接受过艾滋病毒检测。与参考类别相比，20-24 岁（aOR = 2.24, 95%CI [1.75, 2.87]）、怀孕（aOR = 3.17, 95%CI [2.03, 4.95]）和有一个（aOR = 7.99, 95%CI [5.72, 11.17]）、两个（aOR = 10.43, 95%CI [6.47, 16.81]）或三个或更多孩子（aOR = 14.60, 95%CI [8.37, 25.48]）的年轻女性更有可能接受 HIV 检测。与没有正规教育的女性相比，那些接受过中学或更高教育（aOR = 2.66, 95%CI [1.67, 4.23]）、有性生活（aOR = 2.82, 95%CI [2.00, 3.97]）、处于较富裕（aOR = 1.98, 95%CI [1.17, 3.34]）和最富裕的财富指数（aOR = 1.99, 95%CI [1.10, 3.61]）的女性更有可能接受 HIV 检测。与西部地区相比，来自东部（aOR = 1.69, 95%CI [1.04,2.72]）和上东部（aOR = 2.62, 95%CI [1.44, 4.75]）地区的女性更有可能接受 HIV 检测。然而，与基督教女性相比，其他宗教（aOR = 0.43, 95%CI [0.23,0.82]）的女性接受 HIV 检测的可能性较低。
研究结果表明，加纳年轻女性的 HIV 检测率较低。为了解决这个问题，建议政府和非政府组织合作，制定有效的方案和战略。这些方案可能包括持续的健康教育、定期的宣传计划以及使 HIV 检测服务更加方便和负担得起，同时考虑到年轻女性的社会人口特征。
