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Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection

Received: 23 September 2020    Accepted: 9 October 2020    Published: 12 March 2021
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Abstract

Willingness to test for HIV is initial critical factor to break HIV transmission cycle. This study determined social predictors of willingness for HIV-testing among Malaysians at higher risk of HIV infection. A cross-sectional survey involving 369 individuals at higher risk of HIV was conducted in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study used a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods to approach 456 individuals yielded a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Almost one third (35.2%) of the respondents were willing to test for HIV. The odd ratios suggest that the odds of estimating correctly who is willing to take HIV-testing improve by 89% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV-related self-stigma, by 11% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV knowledge, and by 6% if one knows the subject’s age. Successful intervention programs to increase HIV testing willingness among individuals at higher risk of HIV infection is contingent upon the subjects’ HIV-related self-stigma, knowledge about HIV and age. The role of HIV-related self-stigma is more prominent to prevent individual at higher risk of HIV exposure from HIV testing. Further research is needed to investigate social context-specific predictors of HIV-related self-stigma.

Published in International Journal of Science, Technology and Society (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13
Page(s) 55-61
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

HIV-testing, At-risk Individuals, Health, Social Predictors, Malaysia

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Davood Mehrabi, Ezhar Tamam, Hamisah Hasan, Jusang Bolong. (2021). Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection. International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 9(2), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13

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    ACS Style

    Davood Mehrabi; Ezhar Tamam; Hamisah Hasan; Jusang Bolong. Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection. Int. J. Sci. Technol. Soc. 2021, 9(2), 55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13

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    AMA Style

    Davood Mehrabi, Ezhar Tamam, Hamisah Hasan, Jusang Bolong. Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection. Int J Sci Technol Soc. 2021;9(2):55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13,
      author = {Davood Mehrabi and Ezhar Tamam and Hamisah Hasan and Jusang Bolong},
      title = {Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection},
      journal = {International Journal of Science, Technology and Society},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {55-61},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsts.20211002.13},
      abstract = {Willingness to test for HIV is initial critical factor to break HIV transmission cycle. This study determined social predictors of willingness for HIV-testing among Malaysians at higher risk of HIV infection. A cross-sectional survey involving 369 individuals at higher risk of HIV was conducted in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study used a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods to approach 456 individuals yielded a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Almost one third (35.2%) of the respondents were willing to test for HIV. The odd ratios suggest that the odds of estimating correctly who is willing to take HIV-testing improve by 89% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV-related self-stigma, by 11% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV knowledge, and by 6% if one knows the subject’s age. Successful intervention programs to increase HIV testing willingness among individuals at higher risk of HIV infection is contingent upon the subjects’ HIV-related self-stigma, knowledge about HIV and age. The role of HIV-related self-stigma is more prominent to prevent individual at higher risk of HIV exposure from HIV testing. Further research is needed to investigate social context-specific predictors of HIV-related self-stigma.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Social Predictors of HIV-testing Among Malaysian Individuals at Higher Risk of HIV Infection
    AU  - Davood Mehrabi
    AU  - Ezhar Tamam
    AU  - Hamisah Hasan
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    Y1  - 2021/03/12
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13
    T2  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
    JF  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
    JO  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7420
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.13
    AB  - Willingness to test for HIV is initial critical factor to break HIV transmission cycle. This study determined social predictors of willingness for HIV-testing among Malaysians at higher risk of HIV infection. A cross-sectional survey involving 369 individuals at higher risk of HIV was conducted in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study used a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods to approach 456 individuals yielded a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Almost one third (35.2%) of the respondents were willing to test for HIV. The odd ratios suggest that the odds of estimating correctly who is willing to take HIV-testing improve by 89% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV-related self-stigma, by 11% if one knows the subject’s level of HIV knowledge, and by 6% if one knows the subject’s age. Successful intervention programs to increase HIV testing willingness among individuals at higher risk of HIV infection is contingent upon the subjects’ HIV-related self-stigma, knowledge about HIV and age. The role of HIV-related self-stigma is more prominent to prevent individual at higher risk of HIV exposure from HIV testing. Further research is needed to investigate social context-specific predictors of HIV-related self-stigma.
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • Department of Cultural Studies and Communication, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

  • Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

  • Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

  • Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

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