Understanding couples' attitudes on prenatal HIV testing in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The prevalence of HIV-serodiscordant couples is increasing. In these couples, one member is infected with HIV and the other one is not, so HIV testing for both members of the couple remains one of the significant challenges in the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV within the couple. The aim of this study was to analyze couples' attitudes toward HIV testing after prenatal HIV testing offered to pregnant women and analyze the males' behavior with regard to their own HIV testing.

One hundred and forty-three pregnant women and their partners were interviewed in the Lubumbashi health district in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The usual descriptive statistics were applied.

Seventy-one percent of the couples declared that they accepted the HIV testing proposed to the woman and approximately 64% of the couples said they had discussed the HIV testing proposed in prenatal healthcare clinics. However, this dialogue seemed to have a poor impact on the HIV testing of the male partner: no male partner was tested in spite of the high proportion of men encouraged to do so. Nearly 30% and 50% of the couples disagreed on systematic condom use and the need for the husband's permission to undergo HIV testing, respectively. Twenty-nine percent of the couples did not wish to have the male sexual partner present at the prenatal consultation.

The majority of men considered that their wife's HIV testing gives them information about their own HIV status and this makes HIV testing difficult for both members of the couple. Better management of the couple in HIV screening and prevention programs therefore seems necessary.