ASSESSMENT OF FAMILY INDEX CASE HIV TESTING AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ADULT ART CLINIC ATTENDANTS OF GEDEO ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Human immune virus Testing and Counseling (HTC) is the gateway to accessing anti-retroviral treatment. Families of Index clients as priority population groups have been largely neglected due to the number of different factors; this high-risk group constitutes a critical mass that must be reached to attain HIV epidemic control. Objective: This study aimed to determine the magnitude of HIV-tested families of index cases and associated factors among adult ART clinic attendants at Gedeo zone, southern Ethiopia, 2021. Methods and Materials: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted by using pretested adapted structured questioners in ART clinics of Gedeo Zone. Data were collected from adult ART Clinic attendants using a simple random sampling technique and the sample size was 398. The data was entered into Epidata Version 3.03 computer software. Finally, the whole data was exported to SPSS Version 20 for analysis, frequency percentages, and cross-tabulation of categorical data for all variables, and the association between variables have been checked using bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Result: A total of 384 index clients who are on ART care have participated in the study with a response rate of 96.4%.The mean age of the respondents was 36.4 years (SD ±_6.9). The prevalence of participants who are on anti-retroviral treatment and care (ART) who tested at least one member from partner and children were 258(67.2%). Of the 523 family members tested, 176 (35.7%) were partners and 336 (64.2%) were children. with HIV positivity of 98 (57%) and 23 (6.8%) for partners and children respectively. The overall HIV positivity was 23 % (121 positives out of 423 tested). Sex of index client [AOR=4.73:95% CI (2.44,9.11)]Method of first HIV test.[AOR=0.36:95% CI(0.14,0.95)], adherence[AO 0.14:95%CI(0.05,0.37] , residency distance from ART site [AOR 3.17: CI (1.67, 6.28)] , Disclosure of HIV status[AOR: 7.39, 95% CI (3.7,14.64)]are finally significantly associated . Conclusion and Recommendation The study indicated that testing the family of 'index' cases is a high-yield and efficient identification strategy in terms of positivity when compared to other testing approaches and can serve as an entry point for the identification of partners who didn't know their status and children living with HIV not identified through PMTCT program testing. Improving the accessibility of ART service, improving the adherence status of index cases, disclosure of HIV status and preference of the ART site to nearer to residency increases the coverage of index case HIV testing. This type of HIV testing approach enables parents and their children to access care together. Such approaches offer convenient services for families affected by HIV.