Factors associated with wanting to know HIV results in South Africa

HIV-associated stigma is a significant barrier to HIV testing in South Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of study subjects who wanted to know their HIV status and to describe factors associated with and reasons for wanting to know HIV results. Data were obtained from a cohort study in rural South Africa evaluating the impact of migration on HIV infection. All participants were offered HIV pretest and posttest counseling with the option of receiving their HIV test results. In-depth interviews with 12 randomly selected participants provided qualitative data. Of 628 participants, 80% wanted to know their HIV results. The main reported reason for wanting HIV results was to protect themselves against future infections. In the multivariable model for women, number of dependents (odds ratio [OR] = 1.181; 95% confidence interval [CI] - 1.070, 1.303), partners of migrant men (OR = 0.37; 95% CI - 0.14, 0.95), and those who reported condom use (OR = 0.17; 95% CI - 0.08, 0.39) were associated with wanting their HIV results. No factors were associated with wanting HIV results in men. Our study suggests that participant-oriented counseling produces high rates of participants wanting to know their HIV status. These findings may be useful in providing insight to understand issues associated with stigma in HIV testing.