Determinants of Voluntary Counseling and Testing Service Uptake Among Adult Sub-Saharan Africans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: To examine the major determinants of VCT service uptake among adults in SSA.Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify eligible English language publications. Reporting of the study selection procedure was done according to PRISMA and the selected articles were also critically appraised.Results: We found 8 significant determinants of VCT uptake among adults in SSA, such as less physical access [OR (Odds ratio): 0.77 (95% CI (Confidence interval): 0.62–0.96), p < 0.01], older age [OR: 1.36 (95% CI: 1.08–1.73), p < 0.01], higher education level [OR: 1.60 (95% CI: 1.24–2.05), p < 0.01], high knowledge of HIV and VCT awareness [OR: 1.40 (95% CI: 1.03–1.90), p < 0.01], unprotected sexual practices [OR: 1.75 (95% CI: 1.18–2.58), p < 0.01], discussion on HIV among partners and others [OR: 1.76 (95% CI: 1.10–2.81), p < 0.01], other STIs [OR: 1.40 (95% CI: 1.00–1.98), p < 0.01], and divorced/separated [OR: 1.39 (95% CI: 1.12–1.72), p < 0.01].Conclusion: This study showed that 8 determinants were significantly associated with VCT service uptake in SSA. Thus, HIV interventions and policy initiatives should be tailored to these determinants to ensure scale-up of VCT service uptake in SSA.

HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Utilisation among School of Healthcare Sciences Undergraduate Students at the University of Limpopo

“…Therefore, to effectively encourage more tertiary students to be educated about HIV and utilise services to prevent sexually related infections, such initiatives should be reinforced by the introduction of more HIV interventions in tertiary institutions and providing those who undergo testing with incentives. Government policies that offer incentives for HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa have an impact on the high uptake of VCT [13]. Hence, (90.4%) of our respondents reported having tested for HIV previously.…”

“…Additionally, the fear of knowing one's own HIV status and a lower HIV transmission knowledge score have also been cited as reasons for the low uptake [5,11,12]. According to Sambou and Colleagues, the available evidence on the factors influencing or impacting HIV VCT uptake remains insufficient and conflicting [13]. This is of concern at the University of Limpopo because the primary cause of HIV infection in South Africa is sexual contact, and an increasing proportion of people living with HIV in the country have been reported to continue having unprotected sex [14,15].…”