HIV/AIDS infection, although of particular gravity in developing countries, today affects all countries of the world. Among the means used to combat this pathology is voluntary testing, which is both an effective and economical strategy for facilitating behavior change. This study allowed us to contribute to the improvement of the knowledge, attitude and practice of the population on voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. This is a cross-sectional study of the knowledge, attitude and practice of the Kamina population on voluntary testing for HIV infection. A total of 384 people from 82 Ward in Kamina was interviewed using a pre-established questionnaire. Ninety-six respondents (25%) said they knew about voluntary testing; Of these, 79% or 82.3% thought knowing their HIV status was the only benefit of voluntary testing. The level of knowledge about voluntary testing appears to be low among the population studied; there are still misunderstandings about the benefits of voluntary testing and the means of prevention. This result could be used as reference data in the revitalization of a voluntary testing center and the protection of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in our environment.
HIV/AIDS infection, although of particular gravity in developing countries, is now affecting every country in the world.
Indeed, despite the commitment of policies, the increase in funds allocated, research and the progress of medicine in this area, the number of PLHIV continues to grow and new areas of epidemics continue to appear [
More than 80% of adults living with HIV reside in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic continues to grow [
One of the approaches to fighting HIV infection is the services provided by the Voluntary Testing Center (VCT). This service is an intervention that includes a minimum of pre- and post-test counseling associated with testing. The main goal of VCT is to help people change their sexual behavior in order to prevent the transmission of HIV infection. The service provided by the VCT is a potentially effective and affordable method of reducing HIV transmission in the developing country.
Despite numerous limitations and difficulties in implementing it in sub-Saharan Africa, numerous studies have shown that VCT is effective in reducing HIV transmission [
Another benefit of screening is its potential for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV to enable HIV-positive women to learn about whether or not to have children or to provide antiretrovirals. By changing infant feeding, PMTCT companies can reduce HIV transmission from mother to child to at least 10% [
In addition, studies in several African countries have demonstrated that the Voluntary Testing Center is both an effective and economical strategy for facilitating behavior change [
A study in Rwanda found a high level of awareness of screening in the general population with a proportion of 97% among men and 93.3% among women [
As the Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked among the countries with a generalized epidemic and taking into account the number of people living with HIV that is increasing day by day in our environment, it is important for us to conduct a study on knowledge, attitude and the practice of the Kamina population in the face of voluntary testing for HIV infection.
The objective is to contribute to the improvement of the Kamina population’s knowledge of voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS while determining their level of knowledge, attitude and practice.
This study was conducted in Ward 82, Kamina City, in the Upper Lomami Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It was a cross-sectional descriptive study on the knowledge, attitude and practice of Kamina’s population regarding voluntary testing for HIV infection during the period from March to July 2016.
Our sample size was non-exhaustive with a simple random sampling technique based on a pre-tested questionnaire prior to actual data collection. A questionnaire composed of socio-economic characteristics and issues related to the knowledge, attitude and practice of the population studied on voluntary testing for HIV infection was prepared. Oral consent was also obtained from each respondent individually.
As a result, our sample was 384 people aged 15 - 49; they were interviewed in each street that constitutes Ward 82 during the study period.
Included in this study is anyone found on the street in Ward 82, living in the same compound and aged 15 - 49.
Excluded from this study are all persons found in each Ward Street 82, not living in Ward 82 and not at the age of the selected age.
The data collected was entered and processed by the following software: Epi info version 3.3.2.5, Excel 2007, Word 2007 for text entry.
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Our study involved 384 selected people in Kamina District 82. A total of 384 subjects aged 15 - 49 living in Kamina in Ward 82 were interviewed. The mean age of the study subjects was 31.4 years (median 31 years) with a standard
Characteristics | Frequency n = 384 | % |
---|---|---|
Age range | ||
15 - 19 | 34 | 8.9 |
20 - 24 | 55 | 14.3 |
25 - 29 | 95 | 24.7 |
30 - 34 | 64 | 16.7 |
35 - 39 | 42 | 10.9 |
40 - 44 | 63 | 14.4 |
45 - 49 | 31 | 8.1 |
Sex | ||
Man | 183 | 47.7 |
Wife | 201 | 52.3 |
Religion | ||
Catholic | 104 | 27.1 |
Protestant | 218 | 56.8 |
Muslim | 22 | 5.7 |
Kibanguiste | 12 | 3.1 |
Without religion | 28 | 7.9 |
Occupation | ||
State worker | 52 | 13.5 |
Household | 129 | 33.6 |
Farmer | 86 | 22.4 |
trader | 57 | 14.8 |
Secondary school student | 38 | 9.9 |
University Student | 16 | 4.2 |
Unemployed | 6 | 1.6 |
Voluntary Screening Frequency Percentage | ||
---|---|---|
Know the existence | 96 | 25 |
Do not know 288 | 288 | 75 |
Total | 384 | 100 |
deviation 8.8 years. Women were more represented than men (52.3%), Protestants (56.8%); for the occupation, housewives were the most represented (33.6%). These results are similar to those of a study in Pune, but they differ on religion [
Advantage Frequency | Percentage | |
---|---|---|
Know the serological status | 79 | 82.3 |
Change sexual behavior | 17 | 17.7 |
Early support | 00 | 00 |
Total | 96 | 100 |
Advantage Frequency | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
1) Attitude to screening | ||
Positive | 62 | 64.6 |
Negative | 34 | 35.4 |
Total | 96 | 100 |
2) C Knowledge of the existence of CDV | ||
Know the existence | 22 | 22.9 |
Ignore the existence | 74 | 77.1 |
Total | 96 | 100 |
3) Practice of voluntary testing | ||
Have already passed the test | 15 | 14.6 |
Have never taken the test | 82 | 85.4 |
Total | 96 | 100 |
Among them, 96 people or 25% are aware of the existence of voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS against 288 people or 75% who have never heard of voluntary testing.
These results are similar to those found in the city of Ouagadougou where 30% of people said they knew about voluntary testing against 70% who deny existence [
Regarding the benefits of voluntary testing, 82.3% know that voluntary testing has the benefit of knowing one’s HIV status, 17.7% think that voluntary testing allows them to change sexual behavior, no one has emphasized the benefit of early care.
These figures contradict those found by SAWADOG, which shows that 96.6% of people do not know the benefits of voluntary testing [
Based on the knowledge of screening sites, only 22% or 22.9% know of the existence of voluntary testing centers. This is due to a communication deficit between the animators of the centers and the population.
Finally, in terms of the practice of voluntary testing, 15% or 14.6% said they had at least one screening test while 82 people or 85.4% were never screened. These claims corroborate those reported in a study in 12 heavily HIV-infected countries in sub-Saharan Africa that 76% of their study population had never been tested for HIV/AIDS on a voluntary basis. AIDS including doctors [
At the end of this study, which assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice of Kamina’s population on voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS during the period from March to July 2016 in Ward 82, 384 people were selected and interviewed.
We found that as far as the knowledge of the population about voluntary HIV testing is concerned, only 25% of the surveyed population are aware of the existence of voluntary HIV/AIDS testing; 82.3% revealed that voluntary testing would allow them to know their serological status, 17.7% said it allows them to change their behavior; 85.4% said they never tested on HIV, however, 64.6% were willing to take a voluntary test if needed.
The level of knowledge about voluntary testing is low among the population studied; there are still misunderstandings and misunderstandings about the benefits of voluntary testing and the means of prevention. Revitalization of CDV and PMTCT is important; this result could be used as baseline data.
Since HIV/AIDS infection is a serious public health problem, there is a need to sensitize the entire population about the existence of a voluntary testing center because knowing its serological status is an important fact that would help reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS. Contamination and promote early management.
Anany, I.M. (2018) Knowledge, Attitude, Practice of the Kamina City Population in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Voluntary Screening of HIV/Aids. Open Access Library Journal, 5: e4479. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104479