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Men’s Beliefs About the Likelihood of Serodiscordance in Couples with an HIV-Positive Partner: Survey Evidence from Rural Uganda

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Abstract

Few studies in sub-Saharan Africa have assessed men’s knowledge about the likelihood of serodiscordance in couples with an HIV-positive partner and how this is affected by antiretroviral therapy (ART). Using a Likert scale and probabilistic scale, we elicited beliefs of 2532 rural Ugandan men about the likelihood of seroconcordance in married couples with an HIV-positive female partner who is either taking ART or not taking ART. Logistic regression analyses explored associations between beliefs and various health behaviors. Probabilistic scale responses were consistent with Likert scale responses. Seroconcordance was believed to be likely in the scenarios without ART and with ART, with mean seroconcordance likelihood of 8.1 and 6.6, respectively, on a scale of 0–10. The majority of participants (57%) believed the likelihood of seroconcordance was lower in the scenario with ART. The results suggest a need for enhanced education among men about serodiscordance in stable relationships and about the preventive effects of ART.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge our research staff, community advisory board members, and especially the communities and participants involved in this study.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health at the National Institutes of Health (R01MH105254).

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Correspondence to Alex Ndyabakira.

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All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the Institutional and/or National Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ndyabakira, A., Chamie, G., Emperador, D. et al. Men’s Beliefs About the Likelihood of Serodiscordance in Couples with an HIV-Positive Partner: Survey Evidence from Rural Uganda. AIDS Behav 24, 967–974 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02531-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02531-7

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