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Factors associated with HIV testing among immigrants in Portugal

International Journal of Public Health volume 56, pages 559–566 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives

This paper describes the uptake of HIV testing and its associated factors among a sample of immigrants in Portugal.

Methods

A questionnaire was completed by 1,513 immigrants at the National Immigrant Support Centre, in Lisbon. The magnitude of the association between ever been HIV tested and socio-demographic variables was estimated by means of crude and adjusted odds ratios, and their 95% confidence intervals, using logistic regression.

Results

Approximately half of the participants reported having ever been HIV tested. Age, sex, educational level, region of origin, immigration status and knowing someone infected were independently associated with the HIV test uptake. Almost 90% of participants reported knowing where to obtain support on HIV-related issues. Most declared preferring doctors to get HIV information. However, only 9.2% had sought HIV information at the National Health Service.

Conclusions

Our results suggest differences between migrant groups regarding HIV testing. Adopting more innovative approaches to HIV testing could improve the efficacy of HIV prevention strategies, especially among vulnerable groups within immigrant population as male and undocumented.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thanks to High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (ACIDI), IOM and Helena Vaz, Carla Martingo, Catarina Oliveira and Raquel Lucas. The authors wish to acknowledge valuable feedback and reviews provided by Prof. Gilles Dussault.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sónia Dias & Ana Gama

  2. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal

    Milton Severo & Henrique Barros

Authors
  1. Sónia Dias
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  2. Ana Gama
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  3. Milton Severo
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  4. Henrique Barros
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sónia Dias.

Additional information

This paper belongs to the special issue “Migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe: new challenges for public health research and practice”.

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Dias, S., Gama, A., Severo, M. et al. Factors associated with HIV testing among immigrants in Portugal. Int J Public Health 56, 559–566 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0215-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0215-7

Keywords

  • Immigrants
  • HIV
  • Testing
  • Information seeking
  • Portugal