Assessment of quality antenatal care-linked HIV counseling and testing as an intervention for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV at government health facilities in Harari region, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective: To assess quality of antenatal care-linked to HIV counseling and testing as an intervention for prevention of mother-to-child transmission at government health facilities in Harar Town, Eastern Ethiopia, 2020. Methods: Institutional-based cross-sectional study was done from 1 February to 30 February 2020 by applying quantitative method conducting in government health facilities in Harar town, Eastern, Ethiopia. A total of 422 participants were recruited from four governmental hospitals in Harar Town. Simple random sampling method was used to select the participants. Data were collected by three nurses selected from prospected hospitals. The collected data were cleaned, checked for quality, coded, and analyzed using “Software package Social Science, version 20” computer program. Result: From a total of 422 participants, 348 (82.5%) were satisfied with the counseling room’s privacy, and having pre-test and post-test counseling by the same person provided comfort for 357 (98.9%) of clients. Three hundred eighty-nine (92.2%) felt comfortable with the counselors’ client handling/respect; 386 (91.5%) were satisfied with technical competence of the counselors. About a quarter (25.4%) of clients had no discussion of prevention of mother-to-child transmission at all, and the majority (68.2%) comprehended that HIV counseling and testing could benefit prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Conclusion: Exit interview revealed that the basic topics were covered in most of the pre- and/or post-test sessions, and the majority of those counseled comprehended the information; however, nearly a quarter of the clients did not understand why they were offered HIV counseling and testing particularly during their pregnancy time.

The HIV paradox: Perinatal mortality is lower in HIV‐positive mothers—A field case–control study in Ethiopia

“…Moreover, of the women who received antenatal counseling at these centers, a proportion ranging between 90% and 100% chose to be tested for HIV, with a very high posttest return rate (90%–100%). This means that raising women's awareness of HIV during ANC visits is highly successful and leads to an important increase in women's awareness of their own health and the health of their baby 28 …”

“…This means that raising women's awareness of HIV during ANC visits is highly successful and leads to an important increase in women's awareness of their own health and the health of their baby. 28 HIV-positive women are therefore included in programs with regular follow-ups; these contribute to an increase in the number of ANC visits. According to the guidelines, follow-ups should take place once per trimester until pregnancy.…”

The Burden of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Jimma University Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Observational Study

“…Ethiopia, like most countries in SSA, is experiencing a high prevalence of HIV with about 2.1% of the adult population living with virus, largely due to heterosexual transmission. Besides heterosexual transmission, vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child accounts for more than 90% of pediatric HIV/AIDS [ 18 ]. A few years back, around 53% of HIV-infected pregnant women worldwide received antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission [ 19 ].…”