HIV Testing Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Data Source
2.2. Data Collection Procedure
2.3. Study Variables
2.3.1. Outcome Variable
2.3.2. Independent Variables
2.4. Ethics and Data Availability
2.5. Data Preparation and Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Characteristics and HIV Testing Uptake Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana
3.2. Multivariable Analysis of Factors Associated with HIV Testing Uptake Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana
4. Discussion
4.1. Implications for Policy and Practice
4.2. Strengths and Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Disability Language/Terminology Positionality Statement
Abbreviations
| HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund |
| MICS | Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey |
| UNAIDS | Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS |
| SDGs | Sustainable Development Goals |
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| Variables | Frequency | Percentage | HIV Testing (%) | X2 (p-Value) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | ||||
| Total | 819 | 100 | 52.0 | 48.0 | |
| Age | 20.0 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| <20 | 37 | 4.6 | 83.5 | 16.5 | |
| 20–29 | 133 | 16.3 | 55.8 | 44.2 | |
| 30–39 | 236 | 28.8 | 41.1 | 58.9 | |
| 40+ | 413 | 50.4 | 54.2 | 45.8 | |
| Education Attainment | 22.9 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| Pre-primary or none | 219 | 26.8 | 69.8 | 30.2 | |
| Primary | 183 | 22.3 | 48.9 | 51.1 | |
| JSS/JHS | 308 | 37.6 | 46.2 | 53.8 | |
| Senior Secondary or Higher | 107 | 13.1 | 45.5 | 54.5 | |
| Marital Status | 26.6 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| Currently married | 561 | 68.5 | 50.4 | 49.6 | |
| Formerly married | 144 | 17.6 | 44.6 | 55.4 | |
| Never married/in union | 114 | 13.9 | 68.8 | 31.2 | |
| Health Insurance | 3.5 (0.062) | ||||
| With insurance | 394 | 48.1 | 47.7 | 52.3 | |
| Without insurance | 425 | 51.9 | 55.9 | 44.1 | |
| Wealth Index | 33.5 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| Poorest | 132 | 16.1 | 65.4 | 34.6 | |
| Second | 178 | 21.7 | 61.9 | 38.1 | |
| Middle | 1945 | 23.8 | 56.4 | 43.6 | |
| Fourth | 161 | 19.6 | 44.9 | 55.1 | |
| Richest | 154 | 18.8 | 30.9 | 69.1 | |
| Residence | 23.7 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| Urban | 422 | 51.6 | 43.2 | 56.8 | |
| Rural | 397 | 48.4 | 61.3 | 38.7 | |
| Region | 40.1 (p < 0.001) | ||||
| Western | 115 | 14.1 | 59.0 | 41.0 | |
| Central | 84 | 10.3 | 54.8 | 45.2 | |
| Greater Accra | 89 | 10.9 | 26.6 | 73.4 | |
| Volta | 103 | 12.6 | 55.5 | 44.5 | |
| Eastern | 126 | 15.3 | 52.7 | 47.3 | |
| Ashanti | 157 | 19.2 | 48.4 | 51.6 | |
| Brong Ahafo | 65 | 8.0 | 45.4 | 54.6 | |
| Northern | 38 | 4.6 | 80.5 | 19.5 | |
| Upper East | 32 | 3.9 | 73.2 | 26.8 | |
| Upper West | 10 | 1.2 | 53.6 | 46.4 | |
| Type of Disability | |||||
| Difficulty Seeing | 0.003 (0.955) | ||||
| No | 364 | 44.4 | 52.7 | 47.3 | |
| Yes | 455 | 55.6 | 51.4 | 48.6 | |
| Difficulty Hearing | 1.23 (0.269) | ||||
| No | 695 | 84.8 | 50.5 | 49.5 | |
| Yes | 124 | 15.2 | 60.4 | 39.6 | |
| Difficulty Walking | 0.51 (0.476) | ||||
| No | 298 | 36.4 | 49.6 | 50.4 | |
| Yes | 521 | 63.6 | 53.3 | 46.7 | |
| Difficulty Remembering | 1.91 (0.167) | ||||
| No | 304 | 37.1 | 46.3 | 53.7 | |
| Yes | 515 | 62.9 | 55.4 | 44.6 | |
| Difficulty with Selfcare | |||||
| No | 781 | 95.4 | 51.8 | 48.2 | |
| Yes | 38 | 4.6 | 55.3 | 44.7 | |
| Difficulty Communicating | 0.11 (0.743) | ||||
| No | 778 | 95.0 | 51.8 | 48.2 | |
| Yes | 41 | 5.0 | 56.4 | 43.6 | |
| Variable | AOR | 95% Confidence Interval | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Bound | Upper Bound | |||
| Age | ||||
| <20 | Ref | |||
| 20–29 | 1.71 | 0.70 | 4.13 | 0.237 |
| 30–39 | 2.49 | 0.95 | 6.52 | 0.064 |
| 40+ | 1.33 | 0.51 | 3.50 | 0.563 |
| Education | ||||
| None | Ref | |||
| Primary | 1.51 | 0.95 | 2.40 | 0.084 |
| JSS/JHS | 2.33 | 1.49 | 3.64 | <0.001 |
| SSS/SHS/Tertiary | 3.33 | 1.77 | 6.26 | <0.001 |
| Marital Status | ||||
| Married | Ref | |||
| Formerly married/in union | 1.00 | 0.67 | 1.51 | 0.983 |
| Never married/in union | 0.19 | 0.10 | 0.36 | <0.001 |
| Insurance Subscription | ||||
| Insurance | ||||
| Without insurance | 0.90 | 0.66 | 1.22 | 0.486 |
| Wealth Status | ||||
| Poorest | Ref | |||
| Second | 1.17 | 0.71 | 1.94 | 0.535 |
| Middle | 1.29 | 0.74 | 2.24 | 0.369 |
| Fourth | 1.33 | 0.73 | 2.42 | 0.349 |
| Richest | 1.84 | 0.97 | 3.51 | 0.062 |
| Residence | ||||
| Urban | Ref | |||
| Rural | 0.75 | 0.52 | 1.09 | 0.126 |
| Region | ||||
| Western | Ref | |||
| Central | 1.06 | 0.55 | 2.06 | 0.858 |
| Greater Accra | 3.12 | 1.59 | 6.15 | 0.001 |
| Volta | 1.95 | 1.10 | 3.46 | 0.021 |
| Eastern | 1.76 | 0.94 | 3.27 | 0.077 |
| Ashanti | 1.39 | 0.74 | 2.61 | 0.312 |
| Brong Ahafo | 2.02 | 1.05 | 3.90 | 0.036 |
| Northern | 0.91 | 0.38 | 2.15 | 0.827 |
| Upper East | 0.99 | 0.49 | 2.00 | 0.989 |
| Upper West | 2.68 | 1.08 | 6.68 | 0.034 |
| Type of Disability | ||||
| Difficulty seeing (Ref = No) | 0.84 | 0.61 | 1.16 | 0.282 |
| Difficulty hearing (Ref = No) | 1.06 | 0.68 | 1.63 | 0.809 |
| Difficulty walking (Ref = No) | 0.82 | 0.59 | 1.14 | 0.243 |
| Difficulty remembering (Ref = No) | 0.96 | 0.68 | 1.36 | 0.806 |
| Difficulty in self-care (Ref = No) | 1.22 | 0.54 | 2.77 | 0.627 |
| Difficulty communicating (Ref = No) | 0.64 | 0.33 | 1.26 | 0.197 |
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Seidu, A.-A.; Nwodo, N.; Saah, F.I.; Emeto, T.I. HIV Testing Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana. Disabilities 2025, 5, 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040104
Seidu A-A, Nwodo N, Saah FI, Emeto TI. HIV Testing Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana. Disabilities. 2025; 5(4):104. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040104
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeidu, Abdul-Aziz, Ndidiamaka Nwodo, Farrukh Ishaque Saah, and Theophilus I. Emeto. 2025. "HIV Testing Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana" Disabilities 5, no. 4: 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040104
APA StyleSeidu, A.-A., Nwodo, N., Saah, F. I., & Emeto, T. I. (2025). HIV Testing Among Women with Disabilities in Ghana. Disabilities, 5(4), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040104

