The attitude and utilisation of voluntary counselling and testing for HIV by married men in Gwembe district.

Abstract

The study was aimed at determining the attitude and utilization of voluntary counselling and testing services by married men in Gwembe District and with a view to encourage married men to go for voluntary counselling and testing in order to prevent HIV/AIDS and promote behaviour change. Literature from various scholars, globally, regionally and nationally was reviewed on the attitude and utilization of HIV voluntary counselling and testing by married men and other related literature. A pilot study was conducted in Lukonde ward of Gwembe District and it consisted of one tenth of the total sample for the main study. For the main study, a descriptive study design for both qualitative and quantitative dimensions was used. The study population was married men. A convenient sampling method was used to select the sample population. The study was conducted in Jongola/Khoma and Chibuwe wards in Gwembe District. Data was collected using a structured interview schedule from fifty (50) respondents and later analysed manually by use of data master sheet and a scientific calculator and it has been presented in tables, cross-tabulations, pie charts and bar charts. The research findings revealed that majority (88%) of respondents had high knowledge on HIV/AIDS and VCT and (12%) had low knowledge. However, majority (76%) of the respondents had negative attitude towards HIV voluntary counselling and testing. Twenty four percent (24%) of the respondents had positive attitude towards the service.