TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION................................................................................................................I
DEDICATION.................................................................................................................III
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................IV
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... V
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................VI
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... VII
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................... XII
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS ..............................................................................XIII
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ........................................................................................ 3
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY................................................................................. 5
1.3.1 GENERAL OBJECTIVE........................................................................................ 5
1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................... 5
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS........................................................................................ 5
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1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .......................................................................... 5
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY........................................................................................... 6
1.6.1 GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE.................................................................................... 6
1.6.2 CONTENT SCOPE ................................................................................................. 6
1.6.3 TIME SCOPE........................................................................................................... 6
1.7 CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK............................................................................. 7
1.7.1 DESCRIPTION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ....................................... 7
LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 8
2.1 IMPACT OF HIV ON HEALTH CARE WORKERS............................................ 8
2.2 INCREASING UPTAKE OF TESTING.................................................................. 9
2.3 BARRIERS TO TESTING ...................................................................................... 10
2.4 GLOBAL HTC POLICY ......................................................................................... 11
2.5 INFORMAL AND FORMAL SELF-TESTING AMONG HEALTH WORKERS
........................................................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER THREE........................................................................................................ 13
METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 13
3.1 STUDY DESIGN....................................................................................................... 13
3.2 STUDY POPULATION ........................................................................................... 13
3.2.1 INCLUSION CRITERIA...................................................................................... 13
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3.2.2 EXCLUSION CRITERIA..................................................................................... 13
3.3 SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION...................................................................... 13
3.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE ..................................................................................... 13
3.5 DATA COLLECTION TOOLS .............................................................................. 13
3. 6 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS..... 14
3.7 DATA ANALYSIS.................................................................................................... 14
3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS............................................................................. 14
3.9 AUTONOMY AND INFORMED CONSENT....................................................... 14
3.10 RISK AND BENEFITS ...........................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CHAPTER FOUR........................................................................................................... 16
RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDY
POPULATION................................................................................................................ 16
4.2 LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE ON HIVST................................................................ 18
4.3 ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS TOWARDS
HIVST.............................................................................................................................. 18
CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................ 20
DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................. 20
5.1 DISCUSSIONS.......................................................................................................... 20
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5.2 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 21
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................... 21
REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 22
APPENDICES................................................................................................................. 24
APPENDIX I: INTRODUCTION AND CONSENT................................................... 24
APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................. 25
APPENDIX III: PROPOSED BUDGET...................................................................... 27
APPENDIX IV: WORK PLAN..................................................................................... 27
APPENDIX V: LETTER OF INTRODCUTION FROM KIU.................................. 28
APPENDIX VI: MAP OF ISHAKA MUNICIPALITY SHOWING KAMPALA
INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY-WESTERN CAMPUS....................................... 29
ABSTRACT Background: Despite the many advancements made in health in the world, many countries continue to exhibit negative trends concerning the health of their people largely due to the AIDS pandemic. HIV Self-Testing (HIVST) is an essential component of an effective response to the AIDS pandemic worldwide. However, it has become increasingly apparent that workplace programmes on HIV have overlooked hospital workers even though they are too at risk of HIV infection both from occupational and non-occupational factors. Although they are at risk of HIV infection very few health personnel are aware of their HIV status and quite a limited number of them have been able to seek Voluntary Counseling and Testing services. Methods: To achieve this, a hospital based cross – sectional study was carried out in KIUTH. The study subjects were different cadres of medically trained health providers including Doctors, Nurses, Clinical Officers, VCT counselors and other technical Pharmacist staff. Data was collected by use of a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire schedule. The questionnaire was administered to 292 study subjects. The data was analyzed using SPSS programme, correlation and OR were used to determine association between variables. Results: The results indicated that half (52%) of health providers had utilized HIVST, but 60 % of them had been tested for HIV. VCT Counselors had utilized HIVST more than any other health worker, followed by doctors (65%). Pharmacists had utilized HIVST least (41%). The study also found that those with high level of positive attitudes towards HIVST utilization had a higher HIVST uptake compared to those with lower level of positive attitudes. Those with higher knowledge on HIVST also exhibited a higher rate HIVST uptake than those with relatively low level of knowledge. Conclusion: In conclusion this study found gaps in knowledge on HIVST and attitudes / perception towards HIVST which needs to be addressed. In view of the above findings, it is recommended that Health care Providers should promote HIVST uptake and also need further training on HIVST to bridge the gaps identified on knowledge in this study.