Background: HIV testing is currently a major prevention
intervention and remains an entry point to early
treatment, care and support. Uptake is however low
and alternative approaches are currently being adopted.
Objective: An HIV module was incorporated into the
routine survey of the Kintampo Health and Demographic
Surveillance System (KHDSS) to assess the
willingness of adults living in the Kintampo North and
South districts to undergo HIV testing.
Design: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional
household survey. Univariate and multivariate analysis
were used to identify predictors of the willingness to
undergo HIV testing.
Participants: Respondents were community members
aged 15 to 49 years and selected from randomly generated
household listings from the KHDSS.
Results: A total of 11,604 respondents were interviewed,
10,982 (94.6%) of respondents had good general
knowledge on HIV/AIDS. Among those with
knowledge about HIV/AIDS, 10,819 (98.5%) indicated
their willingness to get tested for HIV. Rural residents
were more willing to undergo HIV testing than urban
dwellers Odds ratio=1.42 (95% Confidence interval:
1.03, 1.96; P-value=0.031). Respondents with primary
education were more likely to go for testing relative to
those without any education OR=2.02 (95% CI: 0.87,
4.70; P-value=0.046).
Conclusion: Expressed willingness to test for HIV is
high in this population. Exploring community and population-based
interventions to HIV testing and counseling
could increase uptake of HIV testing services and
should be considered. The underlying motivations need
to be explored in order to translate willingness into
actual testing.