Uptake of HIV testing among 15–19-year-old adolescents in Zambia

ABSTRACT

Adolescent HIV testing rates remain low with many unaware of their status. We explored factors associated with HIV testing uptake among adolescents aged 15–19 years using data from the Zambian Demographic Health Survey 2013–2014. The sample consisted of 7030 adolescents of which 42% reported ever testing for HIV. We found that as the age of a respondent increased so did their odds of testing (aOR = 1.26; 1.21–1.32); females had higher odds of testing than males (aOR = 1.719; 1.53–1.92); those with secondary or higher education (aOR = 3.64; 2.23–5.96) and those with primary education (aOR=1.97; 1.21–3.19) had higher odds of testing than those with no education; those who were formerly married or living with a partner (aOR =  4.99; 2.32–10.75) and those who were currently married or living with a partner (aOR = 4.76; 3.65–6.21) had higher odds of testing than those who were never married or lived with a partner; as the age at first sexual intercourse increased so did the odds of testing (aOR = 1.07; 1.06–1.08); and as HIV knowledge increased so did the odds of testing (aOR = 1.13; 1.06–1.19). The data points to population level social determinants that may be targeted to increase testing among adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV testing
• adolescents
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Zambia Demographic Health Survey

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank USAID for providing the datasets for analysis and the respondents who participated in the ZDHS 2013-14.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID

Jenevieve Mannell http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7456-3194