MINISTRY OF HEALTH UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH and MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - MINISTRY OF HEALTH HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH PHOUNGEUN PHONGXAY Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic MASTER THESIS MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH CODE: 8720701 Hanoi, 2019 MINISTRY OF HEALTH UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH and MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - MINISTRY OF HEALTH HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH PHOUNGEUN PHONGXAY Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic MASTER THESIS MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH CODE: 8720701 Dr. Somphou Sayasone, Ph. Duong Minh Duc, Ph. Hanoi, 2019 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work has been a long journey with a lot of support and input from lecturers, tutors, friends and my family members.
No journey is undertaken alone. This master‟s thesis would not have been successful without them. Thus, I owe my utmost gratitude to all the individuals who participated in making this study and who supported me during the study process. First of all, I would like to thank very sincerely the Ministry of Health, University of Health Sciences and Faculty of Public Health in Laos, the Hanoi University of Public Health in Vietnam, and the LEARN project for granting me the scholarship and opportunity to participate in this Master of Public Health course.
I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Duong Minh Duc, Ph. Somphou Sayasone, Ph. (Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute) for their invaluable support, guidance and patience.
Without their encouragement, I would not have continued my study and come to the end of this journey. I present my deepest thanks to the honorable teachers, staff, coordinators and organizations that advised and helped me to conduct this thesis study. Their kindness will always be in my cherished memories. I would also like to offer my warmest thanks to the leaders, doctors and nurses of the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital for giving me permission to collect data in their hospital and for their encouragement during the data collection period.
I also sincerely thank all patients who willingly participated in my study. Finally, I would like to thank my classmates and my family, particularly my parents and my brothers and sisters, for supporting me spiritually and for their unconditional love, patience and encouragement throughout my study. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you very much.
PHOUNGEUN PHONGXAY ii LIST OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .vi LIST OF TABLES .vii LIST OF FIGURES. 3 Chapter 1: Review of Literature .2 HIV/AIDS prevention from mother to child .3 Prevention of mother to child transmission .2 Global burden of HIV infection .3 Situation of HIV infection in the Lao PDR .4 HIV infection among women .5 Transmission of HIV from mother to infant .6 Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) .7 Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention of pregnant women .8 Attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS prevention of pregnant women .9 Practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention of pregnant women……………. 18 Chapter 2: Subject and Methodology .2 Setting and duration.8 Definition(s)/Concept(s), measures and assessment .2 Measures and assessment .1 Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .2 Attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .3 Practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .4 Socio-demographic characteristics among pregnant women .5 Psychological factors among pregnant women .6 Reproductive history of pregnant women .9 Data quality and analysis .11 Limitations and bias and how to minimize these biases .1 Socio-demographic factors.3 Reproductive health history .4 Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .5 Attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .6 Practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .2 Reproductive health history .3 Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women .4 Attitudes regarding HIV prevention among pregnant women .5 Practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women. 52 LIST OF ANNEXES.
58 Annex 1: Pregnant woman consent form. 58 Annex 2: Key variables factors. 60 Annex 1: Key individual factors. 61 Annex 2: Research questionnaire presented to the pregnant women.
65 Annex 3: Research questionnaire presented to the pregnant women. 64 - Questionnaire form section 1: Socio-demographic data of pregnant women. 64 - Questionnaire form section 2: Psychological factors of pregnant women. 66 - Questionnaire form section 3: Reproductive history of pregnant women attending ANC service.
67 - Questionnaire form section 4: Knowledge of pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention. 68 - Questionnaire form section 5: Attitudes of pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention. 72 - Questionnaire form section 6: Practices of pregnant women regarding v HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending ANC. 73 Annex 4: Ethical Approval.
75 Annex 5: List of research team members. 76 Annex 6: Curriculum Vitae of Researcher. 77 Annex 7: Thesis comments. 80 Annex 8: Minutes of Explanation.
90 vi ABBREVIATIONS AIDS …………………Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome AMR …………………Ambulatory Medical Record ART ………………….Anti-Retroviral Treatment GARP…………………Global AIDS Response Progress HCWs ……………….Healthcare Workers HIV.Human Immunodeficiency Virus JICA…………………Japan International Cooperation Agency KAP.Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices PMTCT.Prevention of Mother-to-Cchild Transmission of HIV MTCT.Mother-to-Child Transmission SPSS.Statistical Package for Social Sciences STIs.Sexually Transmitted Infections TPB.Theory of Planned Behaviour UNAIDS.United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS WHO.World Health Organization ANC.Antenatal Care PLHIV.People living with HIV VTC.Voluntary testing and counseling vii LIST OF TABLES 1.1: Socio-demographic characteristics of study respondents………….2: Psychological perceptions among study respondents of HIV Infection……………………………………………………………………….3: Reproductive health history of study respondents .1: Knowledge of pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention.2: Multiple logistic regression association between knowledge and influencing factors…………………………………………………………….1: Attitudes of pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention .2: Multiple logistic regression association between attitudes and influencing factors …………………………………………………………….1: Practices among pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention .2: Multiple logistic regression association between practices and influencing factors…………………………………………………………….40 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Figure 1: Conceptual framework………………………………………………18 viii ABSTRACT Introduction: In Laos it is estimated that there are 12,000 people living with HIV and 570 new infections yearly. The number of HIV positive pregnant women during 2015-2018 was 423 cases, but among children aged 0-4 years during 2010-2018, there were 7,410 recorded as HIV positive. New HIV infections amounted to 1,016 cases, and the total number of deaths was 779 HIV positive children.
Objectives: This study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and to identify the associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, in 2019. Methods: This study applied a cross-sectional design. The target population was pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in 2019. The calculated sample was 215 mothers using simple random sampling.
All were interviewed by use of a self-administered questionnaire. The statistical significance was a P-value of ≤ 0. Results: Out of the 215 respondents, more than half had a poor knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and more than half of the respondents (53.0%) had a negative attitude towards HIV/AIDS prevention.2% had a highly positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS prevention. Similarly, more than half of the respondents (55.8%) had poor practices, while less than a quarter of the respondents (23.7%) had good practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention.
There was no association between the socio-demographic variables with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards HIV/AIDS prevention among mothers attending the ANC services (p > 0. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitudes and practices towards HIV/AIDS prevention amongst pregnant women were poor. There was a lot of misunderstanding amongst pregnant women regarding HIV/AIDS prevention. We have not found any socio- demographic factors with significant association with their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS prevention, pregnant women, knowledge, attitudes, practices, Setthathirath Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR. 1 Introduction The transmission of HIV from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labor and delivery or breastfeeding has been called mother-to-child transmission (GARP, 2015). Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) in the present is even more severe due to a lack of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) regarding HIV/AIDS prevention amongst pregnant women. Having good KAP is a cornerstone in preventing MTCT (USAID, 2015).
Globally, since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, 75 million people have been infected with the HIV virus; 37.9 million people are living with HIV, while 32 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses up to the end of 2018 (UNAIDS, 2019a).8 million women were infected, 2.3 million of whom were HIV-positive pregnant women.7 million children under 15 years of age were infected (WHO, 2018b). Yearly, there are about 170,000 new cases amongst children (UNICEF, 2016). The WHO urges health authorities to strengthen all programs for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and to provide HIV/AIDS prevention services to all mothers and their infants, including antenatal services and HIV testing during pregnancy (WHO, 2018d). There have been numerous efforts made to prevent MTCT.
Adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention has been a promising means of promoting positive knowledge and attitudes as well as engaging in safe practices amongst pregnant women. Increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention helps to overcome misconceptions that could prevent behavioral change towards safe practices. Stigmatizing is significantly associated with misconceptions about HIV transmission and negative attitudes towards people living with HIV. Poor KAP on HIV/AIDS prevention not only affects the pregnant women‟s health but also the health of their husbands and children (UNGASS, 2017).
The Lao PDR has shown significant economic growth over the last few decades. In 2016 the country moved up from a low-income economy to a lower‐ 2 middle income economy (UNLaoPDR, 2017). From ambulatory medical records and the Spectrum programmed in 2018, there were approximately 12,000 PLHIV among the general population, with 570 cases of new infections. PMTCT records from these sources at the end of year 2018 revealed that 48,005 pregnant women had been counseled before being pre-tested, 45,565 pregnant women had been tested for HIV at the ANC, and after the post-test, 69 pregnant women and 55 children were HIV positive.
From 2015 to 2019, the number of HIV positive pregnant women was 423 cases. In addition, from 2010 to 2018, the number of HIV positive children 0-4 years of age was 7,410, with new HIV infections in 2018 alone numbering 1,016 cases and deaths totaling 779 HIV positive children (HIV Center, 2018). Vientiane Capital accounts for nearly 50% of the cumulative HIV cases in Laos. In 2015, 44,676 women in the capital tested for HIV at antenatal clinics, including those who already knew of their HIV positive status.
Of these, 106 women were found to be HIV positive with a prevalence rate of 0. The Setthathirath Hospital is located in one of the most populated areas in Vientiane Capital with many migrants coming from other countries. The hospital has the biggest clinic providing HIV services in Laos, including services for pregnant women (JICASurvey, 2016). In the new National Strategy and Action Plan (NSAP) for the period 2016-2020, one of the goals is to see an increase of 15% of pregnant women with correct KAP on HIV/AIDS prevention.
This is aimed at reducing the HIV prevalence to 3% or lower. However, there has been no empirical data for this information in Vientiane Capital. As such, this study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital. This study sought to answer the two following research questions: 1.
What are the attitudes, knowledge and practices of pregnant Lao women with regard to HIV/AIDS prevention? 2. What are the factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention of these pregnant women? 3 Research Objectives 1. To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, in 2019. To identify the factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, in 2019.
4 Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.