title: Educational attainment and HIV status among Ethiopian voluntary counseling and testing clients.
abstract: We examined the association between HIV infection and educational attainment level among a population of 34,512 voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) clients in Ethiopia, using client data from the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE). Overall, more than 50 percent of the VCT clients report at least secondary level educational attainment, and HIV prevalence is 8.5 percent for men and 14.3 percent for women. HIV prevalence decreases significantly with each increase in education level for both men and women, and this association persists at secondary and higher education levels in the multivariate model. Male and female VCT clients with more than secondary level education are 58 percent and 66 percent (respectively) less likely to be HIV-positive than those with no education. HIV prevention and treatment interventions in Ethiopia should target less educated segments of the population including women, who have higher HIV prevalence and lower educational attainment than men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, W4041, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. hbradley@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: Amare
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bedada
authors.forename: Heena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brahmbhatt
authors.forename: Aklilu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kidanu
authors.forename: Duff
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsui
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035141:Voluntary Programs