Abstract
Objective
To analyze factors associated with knowledge about the effectiveness of treatment as prevention for people living with HIV.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional and analytical study carried out with people living with HIV/AIDS treated at five specialized care services in a city in the countryside of São Paulo. Data were collected through individual interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results were analyzed using descriptive and univariate statistics and logistic regression.
Results
286 people living with HIV participated in the study, 108 (37.8%) men who have sex with men, aged over 45 years (36.4%). It was identified that only 15.0% of participants had knowledge about the effectiveness of treatment as prevention. Not having knowledge about the effectiveness of treatment as prevention was associated with having 2 and 4 sexual partners 0.24 (95%CI 0.08,0.68), using condoms inconsistently 2.69 (95%CI 1.26,5.77), not seeking information 4.31 (95%CI 1.18,15.78) and not disclosing the diagnosis to partners 3.02 (95%CI 1.41,6.48).
Conclusion
Knowledge about the effectiveness of treatment as prevention was low and was associated with higher risk behaviors and practices. Interventions targeting people living with HIV who have serodifferent relationships are urgent and can benefit both partners, be an incentive for achieving and maintaining viral suppression, motivation for treatment compliance with antiretroviral therapy and HIV transmission prevention.
HIV; Disease prevention; Anti-retroviral agentes; Therapeutics