Quality of life optimism / pessimism and knowledge and attitudes toward HIV screening among pregnant women in Ghana.

Objective We sought to explore optimism/pessimism, knowledge of HIV, and attitudes toward HIV screening and treatment among Ghanaian pregnant women. Method Pregnant women in Accra, Ghana, completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Life Orientation Test–Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), an HIV knowledge and screening attitudes questionnaire, the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a measure of health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t -tests, ANOVA, correlations, and the χ 2 test. Results There were 101 participants; 28% were nulliparous. Mean age was 29.7 years, and mean week of gestation was 31.8. All women had heard of AIDS, 27.7% had been tested for HIV before this pregnancy, 46.5% had been tested during this pregnancy, and 59.4% of the sample had ever been tested for HIV. Of those not tested during this pregnancy, 64.2% were willing to be tested. Of all respondents, 89% said they would get tested if antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were readily available and might prevent maternal-to-child transmission. Neither optimism/pessimism nor HRQOL was associated with attitudes toward HIV screening. Optimism was negatively correlated with HIV knowledge ( p = .001) and was positively correlated with having never been tested before this pregnancy ( p = .007). Conclusion The relationship between optimism/pessimism and HIV knowledge and screening behavior is worthy of further study using larger samples and objective measures of testing beyond self-report.