Awareness and Knowledge of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission and Prevention from Mother to Child: A Cross-Sectional Study among Female Sex Workers

HIV Transmission and Prevention from Mother to Child

Authors

  • Akash John University Institute of Radiological Sciences and Medical Imaging, University of Lahore, Gujrat Campus
  • Tallat Anwar Faridi University Institute of Public Health, The University of Lahore

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v5i5.422

Keywords:

HIV/ AIDS, Female Sex workers (FSW), Mother to Child Transmission (MTC), Awareness, Prevention, Knowledge

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can be transferred during pregnancy from the infected mother to the fetus through the placenta or to her infant during delivery or breastfeeding. Objective: To evaluate awareness and understanding of HIV transmission and prevention from mother to child among female sex workers having and expecting pregnancy. Methods: It is a cross-sectional survey conducted in three cities: Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad, Pakistan. A sample size of 150 was considered as per convenience and collected using the snowball sampling technique. The data was collected using a specially designed questionnaire which was pilot tested by 10 health experts. The female sex workers of fertile age group 15-49 years who were pregnant or expecting pregnancy in the future were included. The female sex worker who was infertile or was on birth control was excluded from the study. Data were analysed with the help of the SPSS version 22. Results: The minimum and maximum age of female sex workers was 15 and 49 years respectively, with a mean age of 31.7±7.76 years. The female sex workers responded that 63(42%) know the mother-to-child transmission while the majority 87(58%) do not know that HIV infected mothers can transmit HIV to their children.  The responses regarding mother-to-child transmission show that 61(21.3%) know about the trans-placental route, 100(35%) vaginal delivery, 58(20.3%) cesarean section, and 25(8.7%) breastfeeding.  The response regarding the prevention of HIV from mother to a child shows that only 59(25.8%) prefer cesarean section, 29(12.7%) prefer no breastfeeding and very few 21(9.2%) prefer the use of antiretroviral therapies among infected women and children. Conclusions: In conclusion, the female sex workers were unaware of the prevention of HIV from breastfeeding and vaginal delivery. Moreover, they were unaware of precautions such as cesarean section and the usage of anti-retroviral therapies for infected mothers before delivery.

References

Ratnam M, Suresh Babu J, Swarnalatha C, Kalyan M, Deivanayagi M, et al. Corrected and Republished: Human immunodeficiency virus associated thrombocytopenia: Profiling hematological changes in the human immunodeficiency virus infected and AIDS patients. Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU-Volume. 2019,12(1):235.

Blenkinsopp A, Duerden M, Blenkinsopp J. Symptoms in the pharmacy: a guide to the management of common illnesses: John Wiley & Sons; 2018.

Mohammed H, Blomquist P, Ogaz D, Duffell S, Furegato M, et al. 100 years of STIs in the UK: a review of national surveillance data. Sexually transmitted infections. 2018,94(8):553-8.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2017-053273

John A. Evaluation of Awareness and Preventive Measures among Transgender Regarding Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Lahore Garrison University Journal of Life Sciences. 2022,6(01):83-94.

Sabovic EKM, Turel G, Sever M. Perianal herpetic ulcer with rapid spreading: a sign of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica et Adriatica. 2021,30(4):157-60. doi.org/10.15570/actaapa.2021.36

Luo Y, HE GP. Pregnant women's awareness and knowledge of mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV in South Central China. Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. 2008,87(8):831-6.doi.org/10.1080/00016340802226342

John A, Rana MS, Hanif A, Faridi TA, Noor S, et al. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Male Transgenders in Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Lahore, Pakistan: Male Transgenders in Transmission of HIV. Pakistan BioMedical Journal. 2021,4(1). doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v4i1.84

Walters SM, Coston B, Neaigus A, Rivera AV, Starbuck L, et al. The role of syringe exchange programs and sexual identity in awareness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for male persons who inject drugs. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2020,77:102671. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102671

Granich R, Gupta S, Hersh B, Williams B, Montaner J, et al. Trends in AIDS deaths, new infections and ART coverage in the top 30 countries with the highest AIDS mortality burden; 1990–2013. PloS one. 2015,10(7):e0131353. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131353

Abtew S, Awoke W, Asrat A. Knowledge of pregnant women on mother-to-child transmission of HIV, its prevention, and associated factors in Assosa town, Northwest Ethiopia. HIV/AIDS (Auckland, NZ). 2016,8:101. doi.org/10.2147/HIV.S100301

Bradshaw D, Msemburi W, Dorrington R, Pillay-van Wyk V, Laubscher R, Groenewald P. HIV/AIDS in South Africa: how many people died from the disease between 1997 and 2010? Aids. 2016,30(5):771-8.doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000000947

Platt L, Easterbrook P, Gower E, McDonald B, Sabin K, McGowan C, et al. Prevalence and burden of HCV co-infection in people living with HIV: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet infectious diseases. 2016,16(7):797-808. doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00485-5

Nayagam S, Thursz M, Sicuri E, Conteh L, Wiktor S, Low-Beer D, et al. Requirements for global elimination of hepatitis B: a modelling study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2016,16(12):1399-408.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30204-3

Nzelu C. Stigma and Discrimination’s Effect on HIV Testing of Pregnant Women in Nigeria: Walden University; 2022.

Batra S, Memon ZA, Ochani RK, Awan S, Bhimani S, Siddiqui Y, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students towards HIV patients in their pre-clinical and post-clinical years in Karachi, Pakistan: a dual-center cross-sectional study. Le Infez Med. 2020,28(2):231-37.

Calvet GA, Kara EO, Giozza SP, Bôtto-Menezes CHA, Gaillard P, de Oliveira Franca RF, et al. Study on the persistence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in body fluids of patients with ZIKV infection in Brazil. BMC infectious diseases. 2018,18(1):1-17.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-2965-4

Kelly MC. Pre-ejaculate fluid in the context of sexual assault: A review of the literature from a clinical forensic medicine perspective. Forensic science international. 2021,318:110596.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110596

Alemu YM, Habtewold TD, Alemu SM. Mother’s knowledge on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Ethiopia: A cross sectional study. PloS one. 2018,13(9):e0203043.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203043

Silasi M, Cardenas I, Kwon JY, Racicot K, Aldo P, Mor G. Viral infections during pregnancy. American journal of reproductive immunology. 2015,73(3):199-213. doi.org/10.1111/aji.12355

Garofoli F, Civardi E, Zanette S, Angelini M, Perotti G, Zecca M, et al. Literature review and an Italian hospital experience about post-natal CMV infection acquired by breast-feeding in very low and/or extremely low birth weight infants. Nutrients. 2021,13(2):660. doi.org/10.3390/nu13020660

Kimbui E. Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol use and depression in pregnant adolescents attending Kangemi health centre Nairobi: University of Nairobi; 2017.

Awofala AA, Ogundele OE. HIV epidemiology in Nigeria. Saudi journal of biological sciences. 2018,25(4):697-703.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.03.006

Ghany MG, Morgan TR, panel AIhCg. Hepatitis C guidance 2019 update: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases–Infectious Diseases Society of America recommendations for testing, managing, and treating hepatitis C virus infection. Hepatology. 2020,71(2):686-721. doi.org/10.1002/hep.31060

Aishat U, Olubunmi A. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS: perception of health care workers in rural areas of Oyo state. Scientifica 2016. doi.org/10.1155/2016/4257180

Cerveny L, Murthi P, Staud F. HIV in pregnancy: Mother-to-child transmission, pharmacotherapy, and toxicity. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular Basis of Disease. 2021,1867(10):166206.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166206

Mutabazi JC, Gray C, Muhwava L, Trottier H, Ware LJ, Norris S, et al. Integrating the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV into primary healthcare services after AIDS denialism in South Africa: perspectives of experts and health care workers-a qualitative study. BMC health services research. 2020,20(1):1-18. doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05381-5

World Health Organization. Global guidance on criteria and processes for validation: elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. 2017.

Echenique M, Rodriguez VJ, LaCabe RP, Privette CK, Jones DL, Potter JE, et al. Behaviorally and perinatally HIV-infected young women: targets for preconception counseling. AIDS care. 2017,29(3):372-7.doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2016.1220483

Leung H, Shek DT, Leung E, Shek EY. Development of contextually-relevant sexuality education: Lessons from a comprehensive review of adolescent sexuality education across cultures. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2019,16(4):621.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16040621

Navér L, Albert J, Carlander C, Flamholc L, Gisslén M, Karlström O, et al. Prophylaxis and treatment of HIV-1 infection in pregnancy–Swedish recommendations 2017. Infectious Diseases. 2018,50(7):495-506.doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2018.1428825

Huq AO, Chowdhury T, Rana M, Alam J, Moktadir SG, Manir M. Nutritional status and KAP about HIV/AIDS among floating drug addicted and commercial sex workers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Journal of AIDS and HIV Research. 2013,5(9):334-40.

Downloads

Published

2022-05-31
CITATION
DOI: 10.54393/pbmj.v5i5.422
Published: 2022-05-31

How to Cite

John, A. ., & Faridi, T. A. . (2022). Awareness and Knowledge of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission and Prevention from Mother to Child: A Cross-Sectional Study among Female Sex Workers: HIV Transmission and Prevention from Mother to Child. Pakistan BioMedical Journal, 5(5), 54–58. https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v5i5.422

Issue

Section

Original Article

Plaudit

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 > >>