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  • Title: HIV is still a major public health problem among pregnant women attending ANC in Referral Hospitals of the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia: a cross sectional study.
    Author: Worku WZ, Azale T, Ayele TA, Mekonnen DK.
    Journal: BMC Womens Health; 2022 Nov 24; 22(1):468. PubMed ID: 36434557.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: The burden of HIV is disproportionately higher among women of reproductive age contributing more than half of the global share. The situation in Ethiopia is not exceptional. The present study was done to determine the proportion of HIV among pregnant women in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. METHOD: Institutions-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2020 to December 2020. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 538 study participants from pregnant women who had ANC follow-up in Referral Hospitals of the Amhara Regional State. Data on socio-demographic, clinical, obstetric, behavioral as well as psychosocial characteristics were gathered using an interviewer administered structured and standardized instruments. The data was entered into Epi-Data Manager V4.6.0.0 and exported to STATA version 14 for data analyses. Descriptive statics were computed to summarize the participant's characteristics. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between dependent and independent variables. Independent variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level (CI). RESULTS: The proportion of HIV infection among pregnant women was 8.68% (95% CI: 6.5, 11.4). Completing secondary school education (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04-0.53), graduated from college (AOR = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01-0.22), and family monthly income greater than 8001 ETB (1 USD = 56 ETB) (AOR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.04-0.87) were protective factors associated with maternal HIV. On the other hand, history of previous abortion (AOR = 7.73; 95% CI: 3.33-17.95) and positive syphilis status (AOR = 10.28; 95% CI: 2.80-37.62) were risk factors associated with maternal HIV status. CONCLUSION: The proportion of HIV infection among pregnant women was found to be high. Advanced level of education, relatively higher monthly income, history of abortion and previous syphilis status were associated factors with HIV status. Strengthening women's formal education; empowering women in all spheres of life (especially improving their economic standing that prevents women from engaging in risky sexual practices); educating women about HIV transmission methods and HIV prevention and control strategies using behavior change intervention strategy prepared for women to reduce their vulnerability; advocating for the use of family planning to reduce unsafe abortions and syphilis; as well as regular screening and testing for syphilis are recommended. Millions lost their lives for HIV/AIDS while many more live with the virus with significantly compromised degree of quality of life. Women are more affected than men because of various contributing factors. This study was aimed to determine the proportion and associated factors of HIV status among pregnant women attending ANC at referral hospitals of the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The study was conducted from October 2020 to December 2020. A total of 538 pregnant women were included in the study selected from three referral hospitals.  An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between factors of the study participants and HIV status. The result revealed that the overall proportion of HIV among pregnant women was 8.68%. Women who completed secondary education, graduated from higher education and having a relatively adequate monthly income were found to have less chance of contracting HIV. On the other hand, pregnant women who had history of previous abortion and positive for syphilis had a higher chance to be infected with HIV. Such a high HIV proportion among the participants in the study area implies that there might be lack of awareness about HIV infection transmission methods as well as HIV prevention and control strategies. In this connection, behavior change intervention strategy prepared specifically for women is recommended to reduce their vulnerability. Besides promoting the use of family planning methods to reduce unsafe abortions and syphilis as well as regular screening and testing for syphilis are important to consider.
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