Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana
HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) is a critical strategy to reduce the rate of new HIV infections and the key entry point to HIV treatment, care and support services. This study aimed to determine the uptake of HTC among students of tertiary institutions in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. This was...
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doaj-596a37d91bec4859ab9e119a91c129f22020-11-25T03:10:23ZengPAGEPress PublicationsJournal of Public Health in Africa2038-99222038-99302020-03-0110210.4081/jphia.2019.1044Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, GhanaEvans Agamlor0Lilian Pencille1Prosper Lutala2Derick Akompab Akoku3Elvis Tarkang4Department of Population and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public, Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, HoHIV/AIDS Prevention Research Network Cameroon, KumbaSchool of Public Health & Family Medicine College of Medicine University of MalawiCommunity Research and Training Institute, YaoundeDepartment of Population and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public, Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana; HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Network Cameroon, Kumba HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) is a critical strategy to reduce the rate of new HIV infections and the key entry point to HIV treatment, care and support services. This study aimed to determine the uptake of HTC among students of tertiary institutions in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. This was a quantitative cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data among a proportionate stratified sample of students from tertiary institutions. Chi-square and Logistic regression analyses were performed using Stata version 12.0 at the 0.05 level of significance. Only 30.6% of the total respondents had ever tested for HIV/AIDS of which, only 22.9% tested less than 6 months before the current study. Students above twenty-four years of age were 3 times more likely to go for HTC than those below 20 years [OR=2.56 (95% CI: 1.07-6.11; p=0.034)]; those in the fourth year of study were 3 times more likely get HTC than those in the first year [OR=3.05 (95%CI: 1.10-8.49; p=0.033)]; and those attending THERESCO, the Midwifery training college and UHAS were more than 2 times more likely to get tested for HIV than those attending FRANCO [OR =2.67 (95% CI: 1.14-6.15; p=0.024)], [OR=2.40 (95% CI: 1.04-5.54; p=0.040)] and [OR=2.63 (95% CI: 1.13-6.13; p=0.026)] respectively. The uptake of HTC among tertiary institution students in Hohoe municipality was considerably low. Policymakers should design programs and interventions that would increase uptake of HTC among tertiary students, with focus on those aged less than 20 years, those at the lower level of study and those in the non-health related institutions. https://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/1044HTC uptakeknowledgestudentstertiary institutionsHohoeGhana |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Evans Agamlor Lilian Pencille Prosper Lutala Derick Akompab Akoku Elvis Tarkang |
spellingShingle |
Evans Agamlor Lilian Pencille Prosper Lutala Derick Akompab Akoku Elvis Tarkang Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana Journal of Public Health in Africa HTC uptake knowledge students tertiary institutions Hohoe Ghana |
author_facet |
Evans Agamlor Lilian Pencille Prosper Lutala Derick Akompab Akoku Elvis Tarkang |
author_sort |
Evans Agamlor |
title |
Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana |
title_short |
Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana |
title_full |
Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana |
title_fullStr |
Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana |
title_full_unstemmed |
Uptake of HIV testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana |
title_sort |
uptake of hiv testing and counseling among tertiary institution students in the hohoe municipality, ghana |
publisher |
PAGEPress Publications |
series |
Journal of Public Health in Africa |
issn |
2038-9922 2038-9930 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) is a critical strategy to reduce the rate of new HIV infections and the key entry point to HIV treatment, care and support services. This study aimed to determine the uptake of HTC among students of tertiary institutions in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana. This was a quantitative cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data among a proportionate stratified sample of students from tertiary institutions. Chi-square and Logistic regression analyses were performed using Stata version 12.0 at the 0.05 level of significance. Only 30.6% of the total respondents had ever tested for HIV/AIDS of which, only 22.9% tested less than 6 months before the current study. Students above twenty-four years of age were 3 times more likely to go for HTC than those below 20 years [OR=2.56 (95% CI: 1.07-6.11; p=0.034)]; those in the fourth year of study were 3 times more likely get HTC than those in the first year [OR=3.05 (95%CI: 1.10-8.49; p=0.033)]; and those attending THERESCO, the Midwifery training college and UHAS were more than 2 times more likely to get tested for HIV than those attending FRANCO [OR =2.67 (95% CI: 1.14-6.15; p=0.024)], [OR=2.40 (95% CI: 1.04-5.54; p=0.040)] and [OR=2.63 (95% CI: 1.13-6.13; p=0.026)] respectively. The uptake of HTC among tertiary institution students in Hohoe municipality was considerably low. Policymakers should design programs and interventions that would increase uptake of HTC among tertiary students, with focus on those aged less than 20 years, those at the lower level of study and those in the non-health related institutions.
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topic |
HTC uptake knowledge students tertiary institutions Hohoe Ghana |
url |
https://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/1044 |
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