141st APHA Annual Meeting

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286190
Relationship between maternal levels of education and literacy with knowledge about mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV among women of reproductive age from urban oromia in Ethiopia

Monday, November 4, 2013

Linae Young, MPH Candidate 2013 , Master of Public Health, Touro University, Vallejo, CA
In 2009, approximately 370,000 children were infected with HIV, more than 90% were infected through MTCT (1). In the absence of any intervention, the risk of MTCT during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding ranges from 15-45% (2). Prior to the use of antiretroviral treatment (ART), HIV was responsible for 35.2% of child mortality within the first year of birth and 52.5% by age two (3). This research assessed the knowledge of a) MTCT through breastfeeding, pregnancy and delivery and b) the use of ART for the prevention of MTCT. This research utilized secondary data from the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (4). Women living in the urban Oromia region were selected from an initial sample of 16, 702 nationally, resulting in a sample size of 358. Data were analyzed using Bivariate Analysis such as the ANOVA test, to examine the association of the knowledge of MTCT and ART and levels of maternal education and literacy. Results suggest that education and literacy levels are associated with knowledge of MTCT through breastfeeding and ART—mothers who had higher levels of education and who were more literate were more likely to know about the two (chi-square results in education, literacy and MTCT through breastfeeding p=. 001, education, literacy and ART p=. 000). However there was no association between education and knowledge of MTCT during pregnancy and delivery. These results indicate that interventions in sub-Saharan Africa should strive to increase awareness of MTCT through breastfeeding transmission and the use of ART to prevent MTCT.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Discuss potential interventions in sub-Saharan Africa that strive to increase awareness of MTCT of HIV/AIDS through breastfeeding transmission and the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent MTCT throughout pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a project manager of a federally funded study conducted in Jimma, Ethiopia exploring the assessment of CD4+ T-Cell levels in HIV infected breast milk. I have participated and contributed in program planning and implementation in low-income community interventions focusing on the education and awareness of healthy behaviors in adolescents. Additionally, I have participated in the tobacco prevention initiative in Vallejo, California, seeking to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.