KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN DEBRE BIRHAN TOWN ADMINISTRATION, NORTHEAST AMHARA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Introduction: Mother-to-child transmission of human Immuno-virus accounts for 90% of new pediatric infections worldwide. A big challenge to using PMTCT services is women抯 knowledge deficit. There is insufficient evidence to support knowledge of the prevention of motherto-child

transmission of human Immuno-virus in the community. In Ethiopia, the attitude towards pregnant women in the community was not conducted. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission of human Immuno-virus and associated factors among pregnant women in Debre Birhan Town administration, Northeast Amhara, Ethiopia,2022. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2 to July 8, 2022. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 816 pregnant women using proportional allocation to all kebeles of Debre Birhan town. The data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. The data were entered into a computer using Epi Data software version 4.6, and then exported to Stata version 16 for coding, cleaning, and analysis. Covariates which have Pvalue

of less than 0.25 in the bivariable analysis were included in the multivariable logistic regression. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value less than 0.05 was used to determine the association between the outcomes and the independent variables. Results: In this study, the total response rate was 98.4%. About 35.87% (95%CI=32.62-39.25) of the respondents had good knowledge and 43.32% (95%CI=39.94-46.80) had good attitude about prevention of mother to child transmission. Urban resident (AOR=2.23, 95% CI=1.49- 3.34), secondary education and above (AOR=2.85, 95% CI=1.54-5.27), Government employee (AOR=2.94, 95% CI=1.77-4.88), receiving health information about HIV from health providers (AOR=2.00, 95% CI=1.19-3.35) were associated with knowledge of prevention of mother to child transmission and richer(AOR=2.34, 95%, CI=1.35-4.08) and richest (AOR=3.02, 95% CI=1.70-5.38), current antenatal visit(AOR=1.76, 95%, CI=1.15-2.70), receiving health information from provider about Human Immuno-virus (AOR=1.180, 95% CI=1.16-2.78) and discussion with husband about Human Immuno-virus (AOR=2.58, 95% CI=1.67-4.02) were associated with attitude of prevention of mother to child transmission. Conclusion and recommendation: knowledge and attitude towards prevention of mother to child transmission in Debre Birhan town administration is low. Partner involvement during education sessions is helpful to improve their knowledge and attitude toward prevention of mother to child transmission. Key words: Knowledge, Attitude, PMTCT, pregnant women, Debre Birhan