Abstract:
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) increases the risk of HIV infection. Women
are most vulnerable to both HIV and IPV. One of the main interventions to control HIV is
testing, which enables infected individuals to receive treatment and improved outcomes.
However, HIV testing has been lower than expected, globally. Understanding the factors
associated with HIV testing especially among high risk populations such as women
experiencing IPV is essential to designing targeted interventions to address them. The study
sought to examine HIV testing and associated factors among women experiencing IPV.
Methods: Secondary data analysis of data generated from a cross-sectional mixed-method
two arms unmatched cluster randomized controlled trial was done. The data related to four
districts in the Central region of Ghana. The outcome of the study was HIV testing, with
IPV, socio-demographic and sexual behavioural factors as exposure variables. Data analysis
was performed using STATA IC version 16.
Results: The study showed significant association between HIV testing and IPV among
women. The prevalence of HIV testing among IPV was 43.3% during lifetime, and 16.2%
in past 12 months. About 50.4% of women reported lifetime experience of IPV. Prevalence
of economic, emotional, physical and sexual IPV forms were estimated at 10.1%, 36.7%,
32.2% and 18.5% respectively. Factors associated with HIV testing among women
experiencing IPV included living inland in coastal areas (AOR:0.51, 95% CI:0.37–0.69),
living in community for 10-19 years (AOR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45–0.97), travelling for work
(AOR:1.35, 95% CI:1.01–1.81) and having first sexual experience with a boyfriend (AOR:
0.41, 95% CI: 0.26 – 0.66).
Conclusion: HIV testing among women experiencing IPV was low. Considering the
vulnerability of women experiencing IPV to HIV infection, integrating HIV testing into IPV
support services is likely to facilitate early detection and entry to the HIV treatment cascade,
which is essential to achieving HIV global goals and offers a unique opportunity to address
these overlapping issues simultaneously
