HIV-AIDS Prevention among women in Indonesia and the Philippines: A Demographic Health Survey 2017

Background: This study was conducted to compare HIV prevention practices among women in Indonesia and the Philippines, focusing on similarities and differences between both countries. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used with data from the Demographic Health Survey, including 39,897 and 22,0813 responses from Indonesia and the Philippines. We investigated the associations between explanatory variables and HIV outcome variables, HIV prevention practices, using Chi-square tests followed by multivariate, logistic regression. Results: Greater levels of HIV knowledge were associated with an increase in prevention practices. Women with higher levels of knowledge had 2.80 times greater odds of practicing prevention compared to those with lower levels. Indonesian respondents showed less knowledge compared to the Philippines where sexual and reproductive health education and HIV education had been integrated into the curriculum. Negative attitudes towards those with HIV tends to adversely influence HIV prevention practices; however, we found that women having HIV stigma were 2.44 times more likely to engage in prevention than others. Those who had an HIV test before had a 1.48 times higher likelihood of engaging in prevention practices. Regarding media exposure, women who watched television at least once a week had 1.79 times greater odds of practicing prevention compared to those who never watched television. Conclusion: HIV education and media exposure are crucial for improving HIV prevention among women in Indonesia and the Philippines. HIV prevention, Women, Southeast Asia, Demographic Health Survey, Indonesia, Philippines Further studies with more detailed data could explore these findings. Keywords: HIV prevention, Women, Southeast Asia, Demographic Health Survey, Indonesia, Philippines