HIV prevalence and uptake of HIV/AIDS services among youths (15-24 Years) in fishing and neighboring communities of Kasensero, Rakai District, South Western Uganda

Although fishing communities have a significantly higher HIV prevalence than the general population, there is paucity of data on the burden of HIV and service utilization, particularly among the youth. We assessed the HIV prevalence and utilization of HIV prevention and treatment services among youth in Kasensero fishing community and the neighboring communities. Data were derived from the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) surveys conducted between 2013 and 2014. The RCCS is a population-based household survey that collects data annually from individuals aged 15-49 years, resident in 48 communities in Rakai and neighboring districts in Uganda. For this analysis, socio-demographic, behavioral and HIV-related data were obtained for 792 individuals aged 15-24 years. We used logistic regression to conduct bivariate and multivariable analysis to determine the factors that are independently associated with HIV-positive status and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Data were analyzed using STATA version 13. Overall HIV prevalence was 19.7% (n = 155); higher in Kasensero (n = 141; 25.1%) and Gwanda (n = 8; 11%) than in Kyebe (n = 6; 3.9%), p