title: Quality of life, optimism/pessimism, and knowledge and attitudes toward HIV Screening among pregnant women in Ghana.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to explore optimism/pessimism, knowledge of HIV, and attitudes toward HIV screening and treatment among Ghanaian pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant women in Accra, Ghana, completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), an HIV knowledge and screening attitudes questionnaire, the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a measure of health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and the chi2 test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 101 participants; 28% were nulliparous. Mean age was 29.7 years, and mean week of gestation was 31.8. All women had heard of AIDS, 27.7% had been tested for HIV before this pregnancy, 46.5% had been tested during this pregnancy, and 59.4% of the sample had ever been tested for HIV. Of those not tested during this pregnancy, 64.2% were willing to be tested. Of all respondents, 89% said they would get tested if antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were readily available and might prevent maternal-to-child transmission. Neither optimism/pessimism nor HRQOL was associated with attitudes toward HIV screening. Optimism was negatively correlated with HIV knowledge (p = .001) and was positively correlated with having never been tested before this pregnancy (p = .007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between optimism/pessimism and HIV knowledge and screening behavior is worthy of further study using larger samples and objective measures of testing beyond self-report.
authors.affiliation: Global REACH, Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104, USA. camoyer@umich.edu
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Moyer
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ekpo
authors.forename: Cecilia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Calhoun
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Sujata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sippola
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Adanu
authors.forename: Isaac O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Koranteng
authors.forename: Enyonam Yao
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Kwawukume
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires