In 2012, Tanzania, the prevalence of HIV infection among Tanzanian women was 6.3%;
that same year, 18% of Tanzanian children were born already infected with HIV. The
purpose of this study was to determine the importance of prenatal care attendance on
comprehensive knowledge of HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), and HIV
testing and counseling, as well as awareness of HIV testing coverage services, in
Tanzania. The study population was Tanzanian women of childbearing, aged 15 to 49
years old. Guided by the health belief model, this cross-sectional survey design used
secondary data from the 2011-2012 Tanzania Demographic Health Survey. Independent
variables were comprehensive knowledge of HIV MTCT, HIV testing and counseling,
and awareness of HIV testing coverage services; the dependent variable was prenatal care
visit (PNCV) attendance. Findings showed that 69% of women had their first PNCV in
the second trimester, meaning that they attended less than 4 visits. Multinomial logistic
regression modeling assessed the association between independent variables and PNCV
attendance after controlling for sociodemographic factors.