Factors Associated with Uptake of Hiv Index Testing Among Plhiv and Their Sexual Partners in Tanga Region, Tanzania. A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Background Identifying people living with HIV (PLHIV) is recognized as an important and challenging goal of the UNAIDS 95-95-95. 87% of PLHIV worldwide and 83% in Tanzania are unaware of their HIV status. HIV index testing (also called partner notification services) involves elicitation of sexual partners and biological children, tracing and offering an HIV test, and linkage to care. Index testing has been proven to be a safe and effective intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to determine factors affecting the uptake of HIV testing among sexual partners through the index client modality among adults in Tanga Region Methodology A quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out across 8 high-volume CTCs in Tanga region. We recruited 435 participants enrolled in CTC from January 2018 to August 2020 using convenient sampling, we also purposefully selected 70 health providers. Data was collected using questionnaires and analysed descriptively using SPSS. Results Of the 435 participants, 55.6% were aged 26-35 years, 66% were female, 59.3% were farmers or petty traders, and 80.9% were on ART for one year or more. About 74% listed at least one sexual partner with an elicitation ratio of 1:1.3.159 out of 287 contacts with unknown HIV status were reached and tested (55.4%), 54 were HIV+ (34%). Having multiple sexual partners (aOR₌ 23.04) and non-disclosure (aOR= 2.22) were significantly associated with increased odds of listing sexual partners. Leading challenges in contact tracing include a wrong address (20%), unreachable phone numbers (19%), long distances from facilities (7%), and clients’ travel (16%). Conclusion Index testing is an acceptable and effective intervention to reach previously PLHIV. Support and scale-up of this intervention to all facilities offering HIV testing and care services is warranted. Addressing identified challenges will further improve the intervention’s effectiveness.