TY - JOUR
T1 - Reasons for, and factors associated with, positive HIV retesting
T2 - a cross-sectional study in Eswatini
AU - Olislagers, Quint
AU - van Leth, Frank
AU - Shabalala, Fortunate
AU - Dlamini, Njabuliso
AU - Simelane, Njabulo
AU - Masilela, Nelisiwe
AU - Gomez, Gabriela B
AU - Pell, Christopher
AU - Vernooij, Eva
AU - Reis, Ria
AU - Molemans, Marjan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Eswatini has a high HIV prevalence but has made progress towards improving HIV-status awareness, ART uptake and viral suppression. However, there is still a delay in ART initiation, which could partly be attributed to positive HIV-retesting. This study examines reasons for, and factors associated with, positive HIV-retesting among MaxART participants in Eswatini. Data from 601 participants is included in this cross-sectional study. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were used. Of the participants, 32.8% has ever retested after a previous positive result. Most participants who retested did this because they could not accept their results (61.9% of all retesters). Other main reasons are related to external influences, gender or the progression of their HIV infection (respectively 18.3%, 10.2%, and 6.1% of all retesters). Participants without a current partner and participants with less time since their first positive test have lower odds of retesting. To decrease retesting and reduce the delay in ART initiation resulting from it, efforts could be made on increasing the acceptance of positive HIV results. Providing more information on the process of testing and importance of early ART initiation, could be part of the solution.
AB - Eswatini has a high HIV prevalence but has made progress towards improving HIV-status awareness, ART uptake and viral suppression. However, there is still a delay in ART initiation, which could partly be attributed to positive HIV-retesting. This study examines reasons for, and factors associated with, positive HIV-retesting among MaxART participants in Eswatini. Data from 601 participants is included in this cross-sectional study. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were used. Of the participants, 32.8% has ever retested after a previous positive result. Most participants who retested did this because they could not accept their results (61.9% of all retesters). Other main reasons are related to external influences, gender or the progression of their HIV infection (respectively 18.3%, 10.2%, and 6.1% of all retesters). Participants without a current partner and participants with less time since their first positive test have lower odds of retesting. To decrease retesting and reduce the delay in ART initiation resulting from it, efforts could be made on increasing the acceptance of positive HIV results. Providing more information on the process of testing and importance of early ART initiation, could be part of the solution.
KW - HIV
KW - retesting
KW - repeat testing
KW - test-and-treat
KW - Eswatini
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143401877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09540121.2022.2142930
DO - 10.1080/09540121.2022.2142930
M3 - Article
C2 - 36449635
SN - 0954-0121
VL - 35
SP - 1346
EP - 1353
JO - Aids care
JF - Aids care
IS - 9
ER -