Treatment as prevention from the perspective of people living with HIV/AIDS

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).