Low partner testing in high HIV prevalence setting in Freetown, Sierra Leone: a retrospective study

Abstract Objective Despite a 1.5% National HIV prevalence, less than 40% of people living with HIV in Sierra Leone know their status. Limited activities on testing partners of HIV patients could be contributory to this substantial unawareness of HIV status. We carried out a retrospective study aimed at assessing partner testing and HIV prevalence among adults (≥ 15 years) tested using Determine™ and SD Bioline as recorded in the HIV testing registers from January to December 2017 at Connaught Hospital, an urban tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone. Results Of the 3808 clients tested for HIV, 2048 (53.8%) were females. The median age was 31 (IQR 24–42) years and 2104 (55.3%) were single. While 3014 (79.1%) had Provider-Initiated Testing and Counseling (PITC), 794 (20.9%) had Client-Initiated Testing and Counseling (CITC). HIV test was positive in 925 (24.3%) {CI 22.9–25.6, P