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Effect of health education on the uptake of HIV counseling and testing among long distance drivers in Jos North Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

Background
The impact of HIV/AIDS has been felt in virtually all aspects of life. Long distance drivers are of particular concern to HIV prevention and care programs because they constitute a high risk group. HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) is an intervention, which gives the client an opportunity to confidentially discuss his or her HIV risks and be assisted to learn his/her HIV status for purposes of prevention, treatment, care and support. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of health education on the uptake of HCT among Long Distance Drivers (LDDs) in Plateau State.


Methodology
This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre and post intervention phase carried out among 161 LDDs in Jos North Local Government Areas. Health education intervention was provided using a structured health education guide in the form of lecture and discussion. Epi-info™ statistical software version 3.5.4 developed by Centre for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333 usa was used for data analysis and 95% confidence interval was used for the study and P ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.


Results
The mean age of the respondent in this study was 41.0 ± 7.9 years with majority (92.5%) of the LDDs married and 91.3% resident within the state. Knowledge and uptake of HCT among LDDs improved significantly from 4.17 ± 1.43 to 6.70 ± 1.55 and 18.6-57.2% following the intervention (P < 0.001) respectively.


Conclusion
This study has shown that health education is an effective tool in improving the uptake of HCT among long distance drivers. Therefore, it should be used to improve HCT uptake among high risk groups.