Year: 2024 | Month: January | Volume: 14 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 119-134
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20240116
The Prevalence of HIV Testing and Associated Factors Among Young Women in South Africa: An Analysis of 2016 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey data
Samkeliso Gift Shongwe1, Neena Elezebeth Philip2, Emily Wanja Kaburu3, Thomas Matenjwa Kamau4
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, India
2Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, India
3Pan African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute (Including Health and Agriculture), Ibadan, Nigeria
4Department of Social and Public Health, Collage of Health Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, United States of America
Corresponding Author: Samkeliso Gift Shongwe
ABSTRACT
Background: HIV is a significant public health issue around the world. HIV testing is critical for controlling and preventing the spread of the virus, as well as improving the lives of HIV-positive people. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of HIV testing and factors associated with HIV testing among young women in South Africa.
Method: Secondary data analysis was performed using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program drawn from the South Africa Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) 2016. A total of 3422 young women (15 to 26 years) from South Africa were included in this study. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to test the magnitude of association between the outcome variable (HIV testing) and independent variables. Data extraction and cleaning were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, IBM version 26). All data analysis was done using the complex sample analysis procedure of SPSS.
Result: The findings from this study demonstrate that 72.1% of young women from South Africa had ever been tested for HIV. The results show that age, place of residence, region, educational level, occupation, ethnicity, age at first sex, condom use, and number of sex partners were associated with ever being tested among young women in South Africa. Women aged 24 to 26 years (AOR=3.11, 95% CI=1.15-5.71), those who were urban dwellers (AOR=1.51, 95% CI=1.02-2.23), those who had secondary education (AOR=1.70, 95% CI=0.75-5.87), who were from Gauteng province (AOR=1.72, 95% CI=0.56-3.0), those who were literate (AOR=4.67, 95% CI=2.51-3.65), age at first sex at 15 to 17 years (AOR=4.81, 95% CI=2.41-6.09), those who have had three or more total lifetime number of sex partners (AOR=2.3, 95% CI=1.08-3.78) showed significantly higher odds of being tested for HIV than their counterparts.
Conclusion: The study concludes that a high number of young women in South Africa are more likely to get tested for HIV, but they also practice high-risk sexual behaviours. The findings from this study suggest the need for comprehensive health education about the dangers of high-risk sexual behaviour among young South African women. The government of South Africa must also intensify efforts to improve health education for young women in rural areas. Improving rural women's access to HIV testing could help increase the use of HIV testing services in rural areas.
Key words: HIV testing, Sexual behaviour, Women, South Africa, Prevalence