title: Coverage of HIV testing among pregnant women in Catalonia, Spain: a comparison of self-reporting with medical records.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  to estimate the coverage of HIV testing during pregnancy in Catalonia, to identify factors associated with testing during pregnancy and to assess the recording of screening in medical records and the women's awareness about being tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was carried out in 2000 among pregnant women attending hospital, with face-to-face interview 24-48 hours post-delivery, and review of the medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 2,132 participants, 76% were from public and 24% from private hospitals. Medical records showed that 88.3% of the participants had a HIV test (94% in public, 71% in private hospitals), while for 3.7% and 18.5% in private and public, respectively, this information was not documented. Overall, 67% of women reported having been tested for HIV during that pregnancy, and unawareness of having been tested was detected in 10.7%. Educational level and prenatal care are determinants for being tested.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Catalonia has a good coverage of HIV testing among childbearing women, although it is lower in private hospitals. Frequently prenatal HIV testing is not documented in medical records and women are unaware of it. Improving the prenatal care and tailoring these programmes to specific populations, like migrants or marginalized groups, will result in a better understanding of HIV prevention and in an increase in HIV testing before delivery.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Aids in Catalonia, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casabona
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almeda
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Coll
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016304:Hospitals, Private; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008403:Mass Screening; D008499:Medical Records; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain; D014171:Transients and Migrants