Publications by authors named "April L Kelley"
Article Synopsis
- Many African adults are unaware that partners in steady relationships can test positive or negative for HIV, and there is a low rate (under 10%) of couples participating in joint HIV testing.
- Influential figures, like network leaders (INLs) and agents (INAs), play key roles in promoting couples' voluntary counseling and testing (CVCT) in cities like Kigali, Rwanda, and Lusaka, Zambia.
- The study indicates that support from INLs is crucial for INAs in their promotional efforts, with Zambian INLs more actively engaged with their INAs compared to their Rwandan counterparts, and highlights the different sources of information that couples rely on to learn about CVCT.
Background: Most incident HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa occur between cohabiting, discordant, heterosexual couples. Though couples' voluntary HIV counseling and testing (CVCT) is an effective, well-studied intervention in Africa, <1% of couples have been jointly tested.
Methods: We conducted cross-sectional household surveys in Kigali, Rwanda (n = 600) and Lusaka, Zambia (n = 603) to ascertain knowledge, perceptions, and barriers to use of CVCT.