HIV/AIDS: Research and Palliative Care (Dec 2023)
Comprehensive Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Associated Factors of HIV/AIDS in Gondar City Public Health Facilities Among HIV Testing and Counselling Service Users, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022; an Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis
Abstract
Bewuketu Terefe,1 Masresha Asmare Techane,2 Nega Tezera Assimamaw2 1Department of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Pediatric and Child Health, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Bewuketu Terefe, Department of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Post Office Box: 196, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Tel +251918099504, Email [email protected]: The primary cause of HIV transmission is a failure to deliver proper HIV/AIDS information, which is a major public health issue in low- and middle-income nations. While global health coverage continues, there is still little understanding of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, and there is a data gap. As a result, the aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge among HIV testing and counselling (HTC) service users in Gondar, northwest Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2022. About 423 clients were included. Data on HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude, and behavior were collected. Stata 17 was used to analyze. A pre-tested questionnaires were used. Using ordinal logistic regression model, variables having p values of 0.2 and < 0.05 were chosen as a candidate variable in binary and final model.Results: The total knowledge, favorable attitude, and good behaviors of HIV/AIDS were approximately 258 (61%), 220 (52%), and 210 (49.5%), respectively. Being male (AOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.28– 3.01), age from 31 to 35 years (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.88– 4.18), and above 36 years old (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.98– 3.44), primary (AOR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.67– 3.20), and higher education (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.03– 3.01), employed (AOR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.09, 3.37), and media exposure (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.21, 3.61) were factors associated with comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, respectively.Conclusion: The study participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS were rather low. Since HIV/AIDS is still a major public health issue, if the concerned body uses and designs media effectively, encouraging females to attend school, it will have a better chance of combating HIV/AIDS by increasing their knowledge.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, behavior, factors, ordinal logistic regression, HIV/AIDS, Ethiopia
