Gbeasor-Komlanvi FA, Zida-Compaore WIC, Sadio AJ, Tchankoni MK, Kadangha BM, Salou M, Dagnra AC, Ekouevi DK. HIV testing uptake and prevalence among hospitalized older adults in Togo: A cross-sectional study.
PLoS One 2021;
16:e0246151. [PMID:
33529263 PMCID:
PMC7853528 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0246151]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives
This study aimed to describe HIV testing uptake, as well as HIV prevalence and its associated factors among older adults aged ≥50 years in health facilities in Togo.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was carried out from February 2018 to June 2019 among hospitalized older adults aged ≥50 years in tertiary and secondary hospitals in Togo. HIV testing was performed according to the national algorithm. Socio-demographic data and HIV testing history were collected using a standardized questionnaire.
Results
A total of 619 patients (43.9% female) of median age 61 years, (IQR: 55–70) were recruited and offered HIV testing. Among them, 25.7% had never previously tested for HIV. In total, 91.6% (567/619) accepted HIV testing while 8.4% (52/619) refused to be tested. Of those who tested, forty patients were HIV positive, yielding a prevalence of 7.1%. Twenty-three patients (57.5%) were newly diagnosed with HIV infection. In multivariable analysis, two factors were associated with HIV infection: living alone (aOR = 5.83; 95%CI = [2.26–14.53]) and being <60 years (aOR = 3.12; 95%CI = [1.51–6.66]).
Conclusion
The majority of older adults in this study accepted testing for HIV and almost three in five HIV positive older adults were newly diagnosed with HIV as a result of this testing. There is an urgent need to integrate older adults into responses to the HIV epidemic and to strengthen targeted prevention care and treatment in this population.
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