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Background: Prelacteal feeding disrupts early breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding, and increases the risk of childhood illnesses and under-five mortality. Despite its negative health outcomes, newborns are given prelacteal feeds in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This study investigated the factors associated with prelacteal feeding practices among women in PNG., Design: A population-based cross-sectional study based on Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. Multivariable logistic regression using complex sample analysis was performed to control for the effects of potential confounders. Variables with p ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant., Setting: Papua New Guinea., Participants: A total weighted sample of 4399 women was included in the study., Outcome Measure: Prelacteal feeds., Results: About 10% of women provided prelacteal feeds to their infants. The most frequently reported prelacteal feed was plain water (71.7%), followed by grain-based (eg, noodles) (47.1%), dark green leafy vegetables (42.1%) and soup (39.7%). Women with no formal (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0-3.0) or primary (AOR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.9) education, who had a caesarean section (AOR 4.1, 95% CI: 2.4-7.2), had given birth at home or in the village (AOR 3.7, 95% CI: 2.1-6.8) and from the Islands region (AOR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.5-3.5) had higher odds of providing prelacteal feeds., Conclusion: Our study revealed that providing prelacteal feeds is common in PNG. Tailored health education and behaviour change communication are necessary to address this harmful infant feeding practice. Furthermore, the promotion of facility-based births and early breastfeeding practices should be prioritised using existing strategies, especially for disadvantaged and rural women., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of not testing for HIV and its determinants among young adult women aged 15-29 years in Papua New Guinea (PNG)., Design and Setting: The study used secondary data from the 2016 to 2018 PNG Demographic and Health Survey (PNGDHS), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey that used a two-stage stratified sampling., Participants: A total weighed sample of 5164 young adult women aged 15-29 years were included in the analysis., Primary Outcome Measure: Ever been tested for HIV was the primary outcome of the study. All analyses were adjusted using survey weights to account for unequal sampling probabilities., Results: The prevalence of not testing for HIV was 58.8% (95% CI: 57.4% to 60.1%). The mean age was 21.65 years (SD = 4.23). Of the women who were not tested for HIV, the majority were never married (79.4%), without formal education (63%), not working (60.2%), and from rural areas (62.9%). In the multivariable analysis, those who were never married (adjusted OR (AOR) 4.9, 95% CI 3.6 to 6.6), had poor wealth index (AOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.5), were from rural areas (AOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 2.6), were from the Momase region (AOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.7), did not read newspapers or magazines (AOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.1), did not listen to the radio (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0), experienced early sexual debut (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.9), had one sexual partner (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0) and reported no sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the past 12 months (AOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.1) had higher odds of not testing for HIV., Conclusions: Our study found a very high unmet need for HIV testing among young adult women in PNG. Health promotion programmes should be designed to increase HIV knowledge and access to testing services, particularly targeting young women who are disadvantaged and from rural areas., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)