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Page 54
Virology research J 2017 Vol 1 Issue 2
Notes:
July 26-27, 2017 | Vancouver, Canada
WORLD CONFERENCE ON STDs, STIs & HIV/AIDS
allied
academies
Background:
HIV testing plays a vital role in the prevention
and reduction of the HIV epidemic and is a critical measure
for HIV prevention programs and services. However, reports
fromCameroon and Gabon indicated lowHIV testing and lack
of information about the predicting factors of HIV testing.
Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the
HIV testing experiences and to explore its predicting factors
among 15-24 aged Cameroonian and Gabonese youth.
Methodology:
This study used nationally representative
datasets from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of
Cameroon (2011) and Gabon (2012). A total of 14,880 youth
of which 9511(63.91%) from Cameroon and 5369(36.08%)
from Gabon were taken. Binary multivariate logistic
regression was used to investigate the associates of HIV
testing using SPSS version 22.
Results:
Above 14% of Cameroonian and 19% of Gabonese
youth did not know where to get HIV test. In Cameroon
23.1% and in Gabon 41.6% of youth where tested for HIV
in their life time. Only 11.7% of Cameroonian and 25.9% of
Gabonese youth were tested for HIV in the last 12 months.
Most of the youth tested for HIV in the last 12 months were
received results of their HIV test. Even though such data was
not available in the DHS data of Gabon, the main reasons for
HIV test among Cameroonian youth were asked for the test,
offered and accepted, and required. Variables that showed
statistically significant association with HIV test and receiving
HIV test results were: Age, type of residence, educational
level, religion, marital status, wealth index, occupation,
comprehensive knowledge and acceptance attitude.
Cameroonian and Gabonese male youth were less likely to
know place to get HIV test, to be tested for HIV, tested and
received HIV test results than their female counterparts.
Conclusion:
Life time and in the last 12 months HIV test
experiences among Cameroonian and Gabonese youth
are very low and even significant proportion of the youth
do not know where to get HIV test. Hence, both countries
need to implement strategies targeting those younger, male,
unmarried, not educated and economically disadvantaged
youth to increase their motivation and awareness towards
HIV testing.
e:
minettesfay@yahoo.comPredictors of health-seeking behavior: HIV test experiences among youth aged 15-24 in Cameroon
and Gabon
Minet Tesfai Hadish
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China