| Identifying HIV most-at-risk groups in Malawi for targeted interventions. A classification tree model |
| Authors: |
Jacques B O Emina, Nyovani Madise, Mathias Kuepie, Eliya M Zulu |
| Source: |
BMJ Open, 3:e002459. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-002459 |
| Topic(s): |
HIV/AIDS
|
| Country: |
Africa
Malawi
|
| Published: |
APR 2013 |
| Abstract: |
Objectives: To identify HIV-socioeconomic predictors
as well as the most-at-risk groups of women in Malawi.
Design: A cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Malawi
Participants: The study used a sample of 6395
women aged 15–49 years from the 2010 Malawi Health
and Demographic Surveys.
Interventions: N/A
Primary and secondary outcome measures:
Individual HIV status: positive or not.
Results: Findings from the Pearson ÷2 and ÷2
Automatic Interaction Detector analyses revealed that
marital status is the most significant predictor of HIV.
Women who are no longer in union and living in the
highest wealth quintiles households constitute the
most-at-risk group, whereas the less-at-risk group
includes young women (15–24) never married or in
union and living in rural areas.
Conclusions: In the light of these findings, this study
recommends: (1) that the design and implementation of
targeted interventions should consider the magnitude of
HIV prevalence and demographic size of most-at-risk
groups. Preventive interventions should prioritise
couples and never married people aged 25–49 years
and living in rural areas because this group accounts for
49% of the study population and 40% of women living
with HIV in Malawi; (2) with reference to treatment and
care, higher priority must be given to promoting HIV
test, monitoring and evaluation of equity in access to
treatment among women in union disruption and never
married or women in union aged 30–49 years and living
in urban areas; (3) community health workers,
households-based campaign, reproductive-health
services and reproductive-health courses at school
could be used as canons to achieve universal prevention
strategy, testing, counselling and treatment. |
| Web: |
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/5/e002459.full.pdf+html |
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