HIV/AIDS testing behaviour among women and men in Tanzania: a case study of Zanzibar

Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) is one of the basis for successful implementation of HIV prevention, care and support services among HIV negative and positive individuals. Therefore there is the need to explore aspects that are important in promoting the uptake of VCT services among people of Zanzibar. This study was intended to find significant factors (demographic and social) which influence the behaviour of women and men aged 15-49 years on testing for HIV/AIDS in Zanzibar. This dissertation used secondary data of 2007/2008 of Tanzania HIV and Malaria Indicator Survey (THMIS) to uncover the determinants of VCT uptake through applying statistical technique of Pearson Chi-square and binary logistic regression.VCT which allow people to know their HIV sero-status and prepare for care may present a vital commitment toward HIV/AIDS prevention. In this study, 4460 respondents (mean age 28.18 years and standard deviation ± 2.01) from all ten districts of Zanzibar were involved. All household members aged 15-49 years in the household selected were eligible to participate in the study. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages), Pearson’s Chi-square and binary logistic regression analysis were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The study showed that only 1172(26.3%) of the respondents are reported to have ever been tested for HIV. Assessment of the socio-demographic variables showed that respondents aged between 15-39 years, those with primary and secondary education, those living in rural areas, married respondents and those answered the question about their perception ‘if person can get AIDS from mosquito bite were reported to be associated with VCT uptake at 5% level of significance. It is found that majority of Zanzibar people are hesitant to participate on VCT uptake despite government and other institution to put efforts on it.