Household socio-economic status and the risk of HIV infection among under five-year children in Muheza district, north-eastern Tanzania

Abstract

Background: There are pieces of evidence of the association between socioeconomic factors and HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a dearth of information on such a relationship in Tanzania.

Objective: To determine the relationship between household socioeconomic factors and HIV prevalence among under five-year children in Muheza district, Tanzania.

Methods: A facility-based study among HIV-exposed children with their respective mothers/guardians was conducted from June 2015 to June 2016. Information on the HIV status of the child and household socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed in the STATA version 13.0.

Results: A total of 576 child-mother/guardian pairs were interviewed. Sixty-one (10.6%) children were confirmed to be HIV positive. The odds of HIV infection were found to be lower among children belonging to the heads of households with secondary and high levels of education (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.9); P=0.04, those living in wealthier households (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI  0.3-0.9; P=0.03) and those whose mothers/guardians had good knowledge of HIV  (AOR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.3; P<0.001) compared to their counterparts.

Conclusion: Children with heads of households having high educational levels and those from wealthier households were associated with reduced odds of acquiring HIV infection in Muheza district.