OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the knowledge of Iranian women about HIV/AIDS and whether they had accepting attitudes towards people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and sought to identify factors correlated with their knowledge and attitudes. METHODS: The data analyzed in the present study were taken from Iran's Multiple Indicator Demographic and Health Survey, a national survey conducted in 2015. In total, 42,630 women aged 15–49 years were identified through multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling and interviewed. Associations of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants with their knowledge and attitudes were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The majority (79.0%) of Iranian women had heard about HIV/AIDS, but only 19.1% had a comprehensive knowledge. In addition, only 15.4% of women had accepting attitudes toward people with HIV. Being older, married, more highly educated, and wealthier were factors associated with having more comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and living in urban areas was associated with having more positive attitudes toward people with HIV. CONCLUSIONS The relatively poor knowledge of Iranian women and the low prevalence of accepting attitudes toward people living with HIV highlight the need to develop policies and interventions to overcome this issue, which would be a basis for further prevention of HIV/AIDS in Iran.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the knowledge of Iranian women about HIV/AIDS and whether they had accepting attitudes towards people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and sought to identify factors correlated with their knowledge and attitudes. METHODS: The data analyzed in the present study were taken from Iran's Multiple Indicator Demographic and Health Survey, a national survey conducted in 2015. In total, 42,630 women aged 15–49 years were identified through multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling and interviewed. Associations of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants with their knowledge and attitudes were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The majority (79.0%) of Iranian women had heard about HIV/AIDS, but only 19.1% had a comprehensive knowledge. In addition, only 15.4% of women had accepting attitudes toward people with HIV. Being older, married, more highly educated, and wealthier were factors associated with having more comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and living in urban areas was associated with having more positive attitudes toward people with HIV. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively poor knowledge of Iranian women and the low prevalence of accepting attitudes toward people living with HIV highlight the need to develop policies and interventions to overcome this issue, which would be a basis for further prevention of HIV/AIDS in Iran.
Female ; Health Surveys ; HIV ; Humans ; Iran ; Logistic Models ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the knowledge of Iranian women about HIV/AIDS and whether they had accepting attitudes towards people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and sought to identify factors correlated with their knowledge and attitudes.METHODS: The data analyzed in the present study were taken from Iran's Multiple Indicator Demographic and Health Survey, a national survey conducted in 2015. In total, 42,630 women aged 15–49 years were identified through multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling and interviewed. Associations of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants with their knowledge and attitudes were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis.RESULTS: The majority (79.0%) of Iranian women had heard about HIV/AIDS, but only 19.1% had a comprehensive knowledge. In addition, only 15.4% of women had accepting attitudes toward people with HIV. Being older, married, more highly educated, and wealthier were factors associated with having more comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and living in urban areas was associated with having more positive attitudes toward people with HIV.CONCLUSIONS: The relatively poor knowledge of Iranian women and the low prevalence of accepting attitudes toward people living with HIV highlight the need to develop policies and interventions to overcome this issue, which would be a basis for further prevention of HIV/AIDS in Iran.
Female ; Health Surveys ; HIV ; Humans ; Iran ; Logistic Models ; Prevalence

Objectives: No systematic review has explored the challenges related to worldwide universal health coverage (UHC). This study reviewed challenges on the road to UHC. Methods: A systematic electronic search of all studies that identified the challenges of worldwide UHC was conducted, without any restrictions related to the publication date or language. A hand search and a bibliographic search were also conducted to identify which texts to include in this study. These sources and citations yielded a total of 2500 articles, only 26 of which met the inclusion criteria. Relevant data from these papers were extracted, summarized, grouped, and reported in tables. Results: Of the 26 included studies, 7 (27%) were reviews, 6 (23%) were reports, and 13 (50%) had another type of study design. The publication dates of the included studies ranged from 2011 to 2020. Nine studies (35%) were published in 2019. Using the World Health Organization conceptual model, data on all of the challenges related to UHC in terms of the 4 functions of health systems (stewardship, creating resource, financing, and delivering services) were extracted from the included studies and reported. Conclusions This study provides a straightforward summary of previous studies that explored the challenges related to UHC and conducted an in-depth analysis of viable solutions.