Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020
Introduction: The burden of HIV/AIDS among the youth has remained high at 12% in 2020. The levels of awareness of HIV status and barriers to testing services uptake among the youth are not fully determined. We studied HIV status awareness and barriers to HIV testing among the youth in Asutifi North...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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African Field Epidemiology Network
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/56/full/ |
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| author | Dawuda Jawarah Adamu Atsu Dodor Samuel Malogae Badiekang Bernard Aanoume Ziem Abdul Gafaru Mohammed Samuel Bortier Borlabi Blaise Kuubabongnaa Bagyilko Samuel Dapaa Kofi Agyabeng Gyesi Razak Issahaku Joshua Bill Samuel Boakye-Boateng |
| author_facet | Dawuda Jawarah Adamu Atsu Dodor Samuel Malogae Badiekang Bernard Aanoume Ziem Abdul Gafaru Mohammed Samuel Bortier Borlabi Blaise Kuubabongnaa Bagyilko Samuel Dapaa Kofi Agyabeng Gyesi Razak Issahaku Joshua Bill Samuel Boakye-Boateng |
| author_sort | Dawuda Jawarah Adamu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The burden of HIV/AIDS among the youth has remained high at 12% in 2020. The levels of awareness of HIV status and barriers to testing services uptake among the youth are not fully determined. We studied HIV status awareness and barriers to HIV testing among the youth in Asutifi North district, Ghana.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 396 youths aged 15-24 years selected through a multistage sampling technique from Jan-Feb 2020. We used a structured questionnaire to gather data on HIV status awareness, testing services, and barriers to testing services uptake. The level of awareness of HIV status was estimated, and factors associated with the uptake of testing services were examined using multiple logistic regression at a 95% confidence interval.
Results: The mean age of youth was 19.9±2.5 years. Awareness of HIV status among the youth was 25.5% (101/396), HIV testing uptake was found to be 25.7% (46/179) among females. Health workers' attitude was 100.0% (93/93); fear, stigma, and discrimination, 70.5% (279/396) were the main barriers to HIV testing services uptake. Having intentions for an HIV test (AOR= 1.80; 95% CI= 1.06 -3.05) was associated with higher odds of knowing one's HIV status.
Conclusion: We found low HIV status awareness among the youth which could be attributed to stigma and discrimination and poor healthcare worker attitude. Ghana Health Service and partners should adopt innovative strategies to improve the youth's HIV status awareness and testing uptake. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0e9539a99b8a42458dca080118b4160e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2664-2824 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | African Field Epidemiology Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-0e9539a99b8a42458dca080118b4160e2025-08-20T02:01:04ZengAfrican Field Epidemiology NetworkJournal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health2664-28242024-12-0174https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph.2024.7.4.147Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020Dawuda Jawarah Adamu0Atsu Dodor1Samuel Malogae Badiekang2Bernard Aanoume Ziem3Abdul Gafaru Mohammed4Samuel Bortier Borlabi5Blaise Kuubabongnaa Bagyilko6Samuel Dapaa7Kofi Agyabeng8Gyesi Razak Issahaku9Joshua Bill10Samuel Boakye-Boateng11Goakro Effah Senior High School, Ghana Education Service, Offuman, GhanaAhafo Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Hwidiem, GhanaAhafo Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Hwidiem, GhanaAhafo Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Hwidiem, GhanaGhana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Accra, GhanaAhafo Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Hwidiem, GhanaWa East District Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Funsi, GhanaGhana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Accra, GhanaDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, GhanaTamale Teaching Hospital, Ministry of Health, Tamale, GhanaAhafo Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Hwidiem, GhanaUpper East Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Bolgatanga, GhanaIntroduction: The burden of HIV/AIDS among the youth has remained high at 12% in 2020. The levels of awareness of HIV status and barriers to testing services uptake among the youth are not fully determined. We studied HIV status awareness and barriers to HIV testing among the youth in Asutifi North district, Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 396 youths aged 15-24 years selected through a multistage sampling technique from Jan-Feb 2020. We used a structured questionnaire to gather data on HIV status awareness, testing services, and barriers to testing services uptake. The level of awareness of HIV status was estimated, and factors associated with the uptake of testing services were examined using multiple logistic regression at a 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean age of youth was 19.9±2.5 years. Awareness of HIV status among the youth was 25.5% (101/396), HIV testing uptake was found to be 25.7% (46/179) among females. Health workers' attitude was 100.0% (93/93); fear, stigma, and discrimination, 70.5% (279/396) were the main barriers to HIV testing services uptake. Having intentions for an HIV test (AOR= 1.80; 95% CI= 1.06 -3.05) was associated with higher odds of knowing one's HIV status. Conclusion: We found low HIV status awareness among the youth which could be attributed to stigma and discrimination and poor healthcare worker attitude. Ghana Health Service and partners should adopt innovative strategies to improve the youth's HIV status awareness and testing uptake.https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/56/full/hivyouthawarenessbarriersstatustestingstrategiesaccessstigmaghana |
| spellingShingle | Dawuda Jawarah Adamu Atsu Dodor Samuel Malogae Badiekang Bernard Aanoume Ziem Abdul Gafaru Mohammed Samuel Bortier Borlabi Blaise Kuubabongnaa Bagyilko Samuel Dapaa Kofi Agyabeng Gyesi Razak Issahaku Joshua Bill Samuel Boakye-Boateng Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health hiv youth awareness barriers status testing strategies access stigma ghana |
| title | Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 |
| title_full | Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 |
| title_fullStr | Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 |
| title_short | Awareness of HIV Status and Barriers to Accessing Testing Services among the Youth in Asutifi North District, Ghana, 2020 |
| title_sort | awareness of hiv status and barriers to accessing testing services among the youth in asutifi north district ghana 2020 |
| topic | hiv youth awareness barriers status testing strategies access stigma ghana |
| url | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/56/full/ |
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