Correlates of hepatitis B testing in Ghana: The role of knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B

Abstract

Hepatitis B testing is the gateway for prevention and care. However, previous studies document low hepatitis B testing uptake in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B as correlates of hepatitis B testing behaviours among people in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 971 participants (Greater Accra = 503 and Northern region = 468) between October 2018 and January 2019. Approximately 54% of the participants reported having been tested for hepatitis B. The logistic regression analyses showed that having greater hepatitis B knowledge was positively associated with hepatitis B testing (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.14–1.30). Higher hepatitis B stigma endorsement was negatively related to hepatitis B testing (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.96–0.99). Also, participants who knew someone (i.e. parent, sibling, and/or friend) with hepatitis B were more likely to have tested compared to those who did not know someone with hepatitis B (OR = 7.15, 95% CI: 5.04– 10.14). This study demonstrates that knowing someone with hepatitis B increases the likelihood of testing, highlighting the need to create safe and non-judgmental contexts for people with hepatitis B (PWHB) to disclose if they want to. Also, given that greater hepatitis B knowledge increases testing and hepatitis B stigma endorsement impedes testing, interventions that increase knowledge and reduce stigma should be incorporated in efforts to promote testing in Ghana.