Prevalence and risk factors to HIV-infection amongst health care workers within public and private health facilities in Cameroon

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed at assessing the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among health care workers (HCWs) and to evaluate some risks factors for HCWs. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study amongst HCWs in public and private healthcare facilities within seven regions amongst the 10 found in Cameroon. We collected data from 446 HCWs within 150 healthcare facilities. We used questionnaires for interviews and biological sampling for HIV test. Results: HIV prevalence was 2.61% (95% CI: 1.32% - 4.61%) regardless of gender and age. HCWs in private health facilities were more infected compared to those in public health facilities 5.00% vs 1.40% (p = 0.028); OR = 3.7 (95% CI: 1.01-12.90). HCWs who had never screened for HIV had a high risk of being infected OR = 7.05 (95% CI: 2.05-24.47). 44.62% of HCWs reported to have been victim of an Accidental Exposure to Blood (AEB). Amongst them, 45.80% in public HF versus 32.1% in private HF reported to have received an HIV screening and Post Exposure Prophylaxis following this incident. 4.20% of HCW victim of AEB were HIV positive, and 36.40% of HCWs had appropriate capacity training for HIV patient care. Conclusion: Though the HIV prevalence in HCWs is lower than in the general population 2.61% vs 4.3%, there is a high risk of infection as we observed a relatively high percentage of AEB amongst HCWs with an HIV prevalence of 4.20%. There is thus, a need in strengthening the capacity and provide psychosocial support to HCWs.