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Perception of HIV among pregnant women in the public health system in two municipalities of the state of São Paulo
Garbin, Cléa Adas Saliba; Pacheco, Karina Tonini dos Santos; Santiago, Thaís Fonseca; Miyada, Simone; Garbin, Artênio José Ísper & Moimaz, Suzely Adas Saliba
Abstract
Aim: To verify the knowledge of pregnant women on mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of
HIV, the availability of HIV tests in the public health system and counseling on the disease in two
cities, Birigui and Piacatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. Methods: This is a descriptive and exploratory
research using as samples, the files of 141 pregnant women attending the Basic Health Unit. Data
were collected by survey, followed by a semi-structured questionnaire with open and closedend
questions. Data were analyzed on Epi Info™ 7.1.4, by the Chi-square and Exact Fisher
tests. Results: From all the 141 pregnant women, 119 were interviewed and 92.4% reported
to have been informed about the need of taking the HIV test during prenatal exams. However,
only 5.9% were counseled and 20.2% reported to be aware of how to prevent MTCT of HIV,
usually mentioning lactation suppression and prescribed medication. The association between
the knowledge about how to prevent MTCT of HIV and some social, demographic and economic
variables like ethnics, educational level, home location, occupation, age and parenting was not
verified. Conclusions: It is necessary to advise pregnant women on the importance of taking
the HIV test regardless of the examination outcome, which was not observed in the cities where
the research was conducted.
Keywords
maternal and child health; HIV; public health
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