title: Awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and acceptance of HIV testing among residents in Likoma Island, northern Malawi.
abstract: To evaluate the awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention education, and the acceptance of HIV testing among residents on Likoma Island, Malawi, a cross-sectional, population-based study of 579 residents aged > or =15 years from seven villages on Likoma Island was conducted during July and August 2007. Most of the subjects studied could correctly answer questions about their awareness of AIDS and knowledge of the ways to reduce HIV transmission. Moreover, the proportion of respondents (65.8%) who possessed complete knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention was greater than the national average. By contrast, condom utilization was slightly lower. Our results also showed that a high proportion of respondents (70.3%) had been HIV tested at any time, 93.5% of them voluntarily. Among correlated factors, females [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.7, 95% CI 1.1-1.6] and polygamous individuals (AOR=3.3, 95% CI 1.5-7.0) were more likely to receive an HIV test. Past experience of being HIV tested was a strong predictor of possessing good knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS prevention. We conclude that antiretroviral treatment provided by Likoma District Hospital has led to the successful scale-up of HIV testing in Likoma Island and consequently improved the awareness of HIV/AIDS. However, the use of condoms remains largely unsupported, and there is therefore still a need to intensify general HIV/AIDS education on the island.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. hcchiang@kmu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Hung Che
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Kwong Leung
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shue Fang
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Kah Kheng
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: Meng Hsuan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: Ta Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yeh Giin
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Ngo
authors.forename: Shu Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Yi Ching
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Chung Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Ying Chin
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Po Ya
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017280:Condoms; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult