Attitude and practice of antenatal HIV screening among pregnant women attending a secondary health facility in Benin-city.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness, attitude and practice of HIV testing among antenatal clients in Benin-city.

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out among 200 pregnant women. Respondents were selected at the weekly booking clinic using systematic sampling technique. Pre-tested, semi-structured and researcher-administered questionnaire was tool for data collection.

RESULTS: All the respondents were aware of HIV testing. Majority (85.5%) supported antenatal HIV testing with a higher proportion supporting mandatory testing (51.0%). About 25.0% of the respondents had undergone HIV testing and only 27.5% of them were counseled. Previous HIV testing was associated with higher educational status (p = 0.0443) and a higher parity (p = 0.0191). About 59.1% of those who had not been tested were willing to undergo the test. Predictors of willingness to test were a positive reaction to a positive test result (p = 0.0015) and support for mandatory testing (p = 0.0021). Age, educational status and parity were not associated with willingness to test. (p > 0.05)

CONCLUSION: The practice of HIV testing was low and indicates the need to increase public enlightenment programmes on voluntary HIV testing and its benefits.