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Abstract
Acceptance of voluntary counselling and testing for pregnant women in new national programme in Cambodia
T V Chheng1, K Kakimoto2, N Fujita2, T L Chou1, E P Poirot3, K Kanal1
1National Maternal and Child Health Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; 2International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan; 3UNICEF, Phom Penh, Cambodia
Background: The prevalence of HIV in Cambodia is reportedly the highest in South-East Asia. Therefore, the government started a pilot programme on Prevention of MTCT of HIV in our institute and VCT was instituted in Nov. 2001 after training counsellors.
Methods: During the first visit to antenatal clinic, all women were invited to mother class. The counsellors provided general information on HIV/AIDS and this programme in mother classes, and gave an appointment card to those wishing to come to see counsellor for pretest counselling in the afternoon. Questionnaire was conducted in mother classes to ask initial willingness to attend VCT and the reasons for refusal to those not wishing to make appointment. The acceptances of appointment and return rates to pretest counselling were also evaluated.
Results: Though 91% of 281 attendants of mother classes showed initial willingness to come to VCT, only 24% of all attendees made appointment to return to VCT. Moreover, 50% of those who had made appointment actually returned to VCT (13% of all mother class attendees). Of 37 clients (mean age: 25.0 y.o.) who returned to VCT and of 244 clients (mean age: 25.2 y.o.) who didn't, 28(75.7%) and 132(54.1%) were, respectively, primipara (p<0.05). The major reasons for refusal of appointment were mainly because they needed to discuss with their husbands(42.9%) and they were busy in the afternoon(38.8%).
Conclusions: Despite of the high initial willingness to attend VCT, return rate to pretest counselling was unexpectedly low. These findings lead the conclusion that provision of more communication strategies on VCT to discuss with their husbands and prior time to consider for the readiness could improve the acceptance of pretest counselling.
The XIV International AIDS Conference
Abstract no.
D11227
Suggested Citation
" T V Chheng , , et al.
Acceptance of voluntary counselling and testing for pregnant women in new national programme in Cambodia
.
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The XIV International AIDS Conference:
Abstract no.
D11227"
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