Assessment Of Factors Associated With Acquiring Hiv Among Vct Seeking Married Women At Health Institutions In Addis Ababa

Back ground: About forty million people live with HIV/AIDS world wide. The proportion ofrnfemales infected by HIV is increasing from time to time. Nearly 50% of the 40 million peoplernliving with HIV/AIDS are female. Rates of HIV infection among married women or those inrncommitted partnerships are increasing rapidly. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where women havernbeen hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic, 57% of those who test positive are women and atrnleast one third of these women are married. Biological susceptibility, economic dependence,rncultural factor, violence, early marriage, harmful traditional practices, gender inequality, lackrnof knowledge, high risk sexual behavior of their partner and absence of female controlledrnprevention methods are some of the factors that make women more vulnerable to HIV.rnObjective: The objective of the study was to identify factors that are associated withrnacquiring HIV among married women.rnMethods: The study design was a Cross Sectional Survey with internal comparison usingrnstructured questionnaire .The study subjects were married women who came to VCT centers.rnSocio demographic variables, risk perception, marital situation, condom use, decision makingrnpower and violence were used to assess the vulnerability of married women to HIV.rnProportion, Chi square, Odds ratio and logistic regression were used for analyzing risk factorsrnagainst HIV status as appropriate.rnVrnviirnResults: The study composed 602 married women of whom 38% were in the age group of 20-rn24 years. The most common ethnic group was Amhara comprising 55.1%. Ninety two percentrnwere Christian by religion. Majority of the respondents attended secondary and aboverneducation. About fifty eight percent were housewives and 34% of the respondents had arnmonthly income of 201-599.rnAccording to this study one of five married women was HIV positive (24.9%). Low husbandrnincome, work place of the husband out of Addis Ababa, perceived risk factor as husbands’rnextramarital sexual relationship were highly associated with HIV positivity. Havingrnpremarital test and discussion of sexuality among couples were found to be protective of HIV.rnConclusion: Low husbands’ income, husbands’ work place out of Addis, no premarital test,rnperceived risk to HIV and no discussion of sexuality between couples are highly associatedrnwith being HIV positive.rnRecommendation: Based on the study findings empowering married women throughrnimproving educational and economic status, increasing awareness and negotiating skills onrnsafer sexual practices, encouraging discussion about sexuality among couples, targetingrneducation for married men on safer sexual practices, working with the communities to changernthe attitude towards men’s extramarital sexual relationship and introduction of female condomrnare recommended

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