Assessment of the knowledge and uptake of voluntary HIV testing and counselling services among mothers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

Background: Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV has proven to be an effective way to tackle the problem of HIV/AIDS. Many however do not utilize these services for various reasons which acts as an impediment in the delivery of the services. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and utilization of VCT-HIV services among pregnant women and mothers in Bayelsa State. Methods: This was a hospital-based, descriptive analytic study among 301 adult mothers attending the antenatal and immunization clinics of the federal medical centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. An interviewer-administered questionnaire having 6 sections was used to elicit data of the mothers’ knowledge, attitude and utilization of VCT-HIV services at the health facility as well as barriers affecting the utilization of the services. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: The 59.1% of respondents had heard about VCT-HIV. Most had adequate knowledge 268 (89.0%) and good attitude 270 (89.7%) towards VCT-HIV. About 197 (65.4%) had utilized VCT-HIV services in the past, and 241 (80.1%) were presently willing to use these services. Fear of knowing their HIV status, discrimination, family stigma, among others, were factors hindering utilization of these services. Age, level of education, preferred place for delivery, knowledge and attitude towards VCT-HIV were significantly associated with the uptake of these services. Conclusions: there is the need for government to tackle issues of discrimination against HIV-infected persons as well as sustain the delivery of maternal healthcare through the primary healthcare initiative.