factors affecting voluntary hiv testing among general adult population: a cross-sectional study in sarawak, malaysia

Objective: voluntary hiv testing is one of the key strategies in the hiv/aids prevention and control program. new national strategic plan for 2016-2030 in malaysia, adapt three zeros viz. ‘zero new infections of hiv/aids, zero discrimination and zero aids-related deaths’. this study aimed to determine the predictors of voluntary hiv testing in sarawak. materials and methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 900 respondents (450 males and 450 females) from the state of sarawak, aged 18 years and above, who were selected by gender-stratified multistage cluster sampling. data were obtained by face-to-face interview using a pretested questionnaire. binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the potential predictors for voluntary hiv testing. results: the prevalence of hiv testing was higher among female respondents (26%) compared to male respondents (14.2%), and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). binary logistic regression analysis revealed that household income more than myr 1501 (p = 0.009), not living with a partner (p < 0.001) and discussion on hiv/aids (p = 0.019) appeared to be predictors for the male respondents, while, ethnicity was statistically significant for female respondents (p < 0.001). conclusion: the utilisation of hiv testing was low in both males and females. thus, the finding of this study could be considered when designing hiv education and screening program in sarawak.