TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality of Life, Optimism/Pessimism, and Knowledge and Attitudes Toward HIV Screening Among Pregnant Women in Ghana
AU - Moyer, Cheryl A.
AU - Ekpo, Geraldine
AU - Calhoun, Cecilia L.
AU - Greene, Jonathan
AU - Naik, Sujata
AU - Sippola, Emily
AU - Stern, David T.
AU - Adanu, Richard M.
AU - Koranteng, Isaac O.
AU - Kwawukume, Enyonam Yao
AU - Anderson, Frank J.
PY - 2008/7
Y1 - 2008/7
N2 - Objective: We sought to explore optimism/pessimism, knowledge of HIV, and attitudes toward HIV screening and treatment among Ghanaian pregnant women. Method: Pregnant women in Accra, Ghana, completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), an HIV knowledge and screening attitudes questionnaire, the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a measure of health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and the χ2 test. Results: There were 101 participants; 28% were nulliparous. Mean age was 29.7 years, and mean week of gestation was 31.8. All women had heard of AIDS, 27.7% had been tested for HIV before this pregnancy, 46.5% had been tested during this pregnancy, and 59.4% of the sample had ever been tested for HIV. Of those not tested during this pregnancy, 64.2% were willing to be tested. Of all respondents, 89% said they would get tested if antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were readily available and might prevent maternal-to-child transmission. Neither optimism/pessimism nor HRQOL was associated with attitudes toward HIV screening. Optimism was negatively correlated with HIV knowledge (p = .001) and was positively correlated with having never been tested before this pregnancy (p = .007). Conclusion: The relationship between optimism/pessimism and HIV knowledge and screening behavior is worthy of further study using larger samples and objective measures of testing beyond self-report.
AB - Objective: We sought to explore optimism/pessimism, knowledge of HIV, and attitudes toward HIV screening and treatment among Ghanaian pregnant women. Method: Pregnant women in Accra, Ghana, completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), an HIV knowledge and screening attitudes questionnaire, the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a measure of health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and the χ2 test. Results: There were 101 participants; 28% were nulliparous. Mean age was 29.7 years, and mean week of gestation was 31.8. All women had heard of AIDS, 27.7% had been tested for HIV before this pregnancy, 46.5% had been tested during this pregnancy, and 59.4% of the sample had ever been tested for HIV. Of those not tested during this pregnancy, 64.2% were willing to be tested. Of all respondents, 89% said they would get tested if antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were readily available and might prevent maternal-to-child transmission. Neither optimism/pessimism nor HRQOL was associated with attitudes toward HIV screening. Optimism was negatively correlated with HIV knowledge (p = .001) and was positively correlated with having never been tested before this pregnancy (p = .007). Conclusion: The relationship between optimism/pessimism and HIV knowledge and screening behavior is worthy of further study using larger samples and objective measures of testing beyond self-report.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/45849105189
U2 - 10.1016/j.whi.2008.02.001
DO - 10.1016/j.whi.2008.02.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 18485737
AN - SCOPUS:45849105189
SN - 1049-3867
VL - 18
SP - 301
EP - 309
JO - Women's Health Issues
JF - Women's Health Issues
IS - 4
ER -