Christian marriage counsellors’ knowledge and perceptions of HIV counselling and testing for intending couples in Ibadan South West Local Government Area of Oyo State

Abstract

HIV counselling and testing (HCT) is a key strategy for controlling HIV, an infection which remains one of the leading public health problems in sub-Saharan African nations, including Nigeria. Church-based marriage counsellors (CMCs) can play important roles in facilitating HCT adoption by intending couples (IC) who register for marriage solemnisation. However, knowledge and perception of CMCs relating to HCT, which could be used as baseline information for designing interventions to empower them to promote HCT among ICs, have not been sufficiently investigated.

This paper explored the knowledge and perceptions of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) for intending couples (IC) among Christian marriage counsellors (CMCs) in Ibadan South West Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State.

The cross-sectional study used a four-stage random sampling technique to select 660 CMCs from the Christian Association of Nigeria districts, denominational categories and parishes in the LGA. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to analyse data at p=0.05.

Respondents’ age was 45.0±8.6 years, 60.3% were male, 84.1% had tertiary education, 65.0% performed only CMCs roles; while 35.0% were pastors as well. Mean knowledge score was 9.3±2.6 and the proportions of respondents with poor, fair and good knowledge scores were 5.2%, 44.8% and 55.2% respectively. Respondents with no formal/primary, secondary and tertiary education who had poor knowledge of HCT were 31.3%, 10.1% and 3.6% respectively (p<0.05). The majority (84.7%) perceived mandatory HCT as morally justifiable, while 88.6% opined that churches should make HCT compulsory for ICs. Some (25.2%) respondents asserted that the sero-positive status of an individual who intends to get married should not be disclosed to his/her sero-negative partner.

Knowledge relating to HIV counselling and testing was generally high among the Christian leaders. However, those who had tertiary education were largely more knowledgeable about HCT. Some inappropriate perceptions relating to HCT which have ethical implications existed among the Christian leaders. Educational interventions that have potentials for upgrading respondents’ knowledge of HCT and promoting appropriate ethical perceptions are recommended.

Keywords: Marriage Counsellors, HIV Counselling and Testing, Intending Couples