Acceptability and Barriers to Uptake of Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV amongst Pregnant Women in Nigeria

AIM: This study was designed to determine the acceptability of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV and identify possible barriers to it s uptake amongst pregnant women in a Nigerian community. METHODS: One hundred and twenty seven consenting pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Owo were randomly selected and interviewed by the authors and two trained assistants. The study was conducted between August and October, 2007. The information obtained with the aid of semi structured questionnaire included their bio data, awareness about VCT and vertical transmission of HIV-AIDS. Other information obtained included acceptability of VCT and barriers to its uptake. RESULT: Majority (85%) were aware about vertical transmission of HIV, most (83.5%) knew of VCT. They were predominantly willing to accept VCT (77.2%) and were ready to recommend VCT to others(76.2%). The main identified barriers to uptake of voluntary counseling were fear of possible outcome (82.7%) and risk of divorce (70.9%). CONCLUSION: Most respondents were aware of voluntary counselling and testing for HIV as well as the vertical transmission of HIV. Majority were willing to accept HIV test and recommend same to others. Barriers to uptake of HIV test included fear of possible outcome, lack of felt need, stigmatization and financial constraint. There is need to extend voluntary counselling and testing for HIV to all antenatal patients. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2010; 9(4): 309-314]