Acceptability of voluntary counselling and testing among medical students in Jos, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.683Keywords:
Acceptability, HIV Counseling, Medical Students, VoluntaryAbstract
Background: Various preventive strategies have been employed to curb the spread of HIV infection as there is presently no cure. Abstinence, avoidance of multiple sexual partners, condom use, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and treatment of HIV-infected individuals form the cornerstone of HIV prevention. This study assessed the acceptability of VCT among medical students in a single institution in Nigeria
Methodology: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to clinical medical students of the University of Jos in a cross-sectional study.
Results: Out of a total of 368 students surveyed, 178 (50.7%) have had VCT. There was no significant difference between the proportion of males and females who had had VCT previously (48.9% of males and 56.3% of females; χ2 = 1.65, OR = 0.76 95% CI: 0.46-1.20; p = 0.19). The majority of the respondents (83.1%) would want to have VCT. Fear of a positive test result was the main reason given by those who would be unwilling to be tested. Gender had no effect on the willingness of the subjects to have VCT as 81.8% of males and 87.1% of females were predisposed to it (χ2 = 1.95; OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.31-1.26). VCT acceptability was similar among sexually active and inactive respondents (80.2% and 80.2% respectively; χ2 = 0.018, p = 0.99).
Conclusion: Awareness of VCT services and acceptability of VCT among medical students is high. These students can be role models for the optimization of VCT services.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
