BACKGROUND The Dominican Republic (DR) ranks among nations with the highest burden of HIV in the Caribbean. Cultural and gender roles in rural areas of the DR may place women at increased HIV risk. However, little is known about sexual health and HIV testing behaviors among women in the rural DR. METHODS We conducted a needs assessment among a systematic sample of adult women in a rural DR community in 2016. Demographic and behavioral attributes related to HIV testing, sexual health, and healthcare utilization were evaluated. Poisson regression analysis was used to identify demographics and behaviors associated with having had a previous HIV test. Significance was defined as a p-value < 0.05. RESULTS Among 105 women evaluated, 77% knew someone with HIV and 73% of women reported that they would be very or extremely likely to take an HIV test if offered. Only 68% reported a previous HIV test, including 47% who were tested over 2 years prior. Barriers to HIV testing included low risk perception (23%), distance or requisite travel (13%), and discomfort being tested (11%). Women who had never been tested for HIV were more likely than those who had been tested to be older (p = 0.03), to have a lower level of education (p = 0.04), and to have never been tested for other sexually transmitted infections (STI; p <  0.01). In the Poisson multiple regression model, the only significant predictor of having had an HIV test was having had an STI test (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS In the rural DR, numerous barriers contribute to low prevalence of HIV testing among women. Most women report willingness to have an HIV test and many engage in routine health care, indicating that this population may benefit from incorporating HIV testing and other sexual health promotion activities into routine medical care.

中文翻译：

---

对多米尼加共和国农村妇女的艾滋病毒检测方法进行横断面评估。

背景技术多米尼加共和国（DR）在加勒比地区是艾滋病毒负担最高的国家之一。在灾难恢复的农村地区，文化和性别角色可能会使妇女面临更大的艾滋病毒感染风险。但是，对于农村灾难恢复妇女中的性健康和艾滋病毒检测行为知之甚少。方法我们于2016年对农村DR社区的成年女性进行了系统的需求评估。评估了与HIV检测，性健康和医疗保健利用相关的人口统计学和行为特征。泊松回归分析用于确定与先前接受过HIV检测有关的人口统计学和行为。显着性定义为p值<0.05。结果在105位接受评估的女性中，77％的人知道有艾滋病毒感染者，而73％的妇女报告说，如果提供的话，他们很有可能或非常有可能接受HIV测试。只有68％的人报告过先前的HIV测试，其中47％的人在两年前进行了测试。HIV检测的障碍包括低风险感知（23％），距离或必要的出差（13％）以及被检测的不适感（11％）。从未接受过艾滋病毒检测的妇女比接受检查的女性年龄更大（p = 0.03），受教育程度较低（p = 0.04）和从未接受过其他性传播感染检测的女性更有可能（STI； p ＜0.01）。在Poisson多元回归模型中，进行HIV检测的唯一重要预测指标是STI检测（p = 0.03）。结论在农村地区的灾难恢复中，许多障碍导致妇女中艾滋病毒检测率较低。