HIV Testing Uptake Among Ethiopian Rural Men: Evidence from 2016 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey Data

Melash Belachew Asresie; Getasew Tadesse Worku; Yibeltal Alemu Bekele

doi:10.2147/HIV.S409152

HIV Testing Uptake Among Ethiopian Rural Men: Evidence from 2016 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey Data

HIV AIDS (Auckl). 2023 May 3:15:225-234. doi: 10.2147/HIV.S409152. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Melash Belachew Asresie^#¹, Getasew Tadesse Worku^#², Yibeltal Alemu Bekele^#¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Reproductive Health and Population Studies, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
² Department of Health Economics and Health Service Management, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing coverage among men remains low in Ethiopia; the problem of limited HIV testing coverage is worst in rural areas. Therefore, this study aims to identify factors associated with HIV testing uptake among rural men in Ethiopia.

Methods: Data from 10,187 rural men was extracted from the 2016 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey. All analyses were performed using the complex sample analysis procedure to account for the multistage sampling. Bivariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with HIV testing uptake. Statistical significance was defined as a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) with a p-value of less than 0.05.

Results: Overall, only 40.3% of rural men have ever been tested for HIV. Being aged 31-44 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) =1.12, 95% CI [1.01-1.42]), living in developed regions (AOR=1.43, 95% CI [1.09-1.88]), engaging in non-agricultural activities (AOR = 1.27, 95% CI [1.05-1.52]), being Muslim (AOR = 2.07; 95% CI [1.67-2.67]), having comprehensive knowledge about HIV (AOR =1.31, 95% CI [1.12-1.54]), being from a medium (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI [0.47-0.93]) and rich (AOR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.56-0.80]) households, attending primary (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI [0.16-0.28]) and secondary (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI [0.25-0.35]) school, having their first sexual experience at the age of 17 or younger (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI [0.19-0.93]), having discriminatory attitudes towards HIV patients (AOR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47-0.93) and having no health insurance coverage (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.42-0.69]) were significantly associated with HIV testing uptake.

Conclusion: HIV testing uptake among rural men was low. Strengthening awareness programmes on HIV and HIV testing, integrating HIV testing with all other healthcare, strengthening partner accompany and HIV testing during pregnancy and delivery, and providing home-based HIV testing may increase HIV testing uptake.

Keywords: Ethiopia; HIV; determinants; men; rural; testing.