Poverty, beliefs about HIV-AIDS transmission, and the gap in HIV-AIDS testing among women between rural and urban areas in Cameroon
The objective of this study is to examine the effects of income poverty and beliefs about HIV-AIDS transmission on the gap in HIV-AIDS testing among women between rural and urban areas in Cameroon. The analysis is based on a sample of 7,464 women from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 5) of Cameroon (NIS, 2015). Based on the literature on the demand for preventive health care, econometric results obtained using a decomposing differencesmodel based on Yun method, reveal that the HIV-AIDS screening rate of women living in rural areas is lower than that of women living in urban areas. Improvements in the level of economic well-being, demonstrated knowledge about HIV-AIDS, and education levels of rural women are likely to reduce this gap. On the other hand, having a child, knowing where to get tested for HIV-AIDS, or being an elderly person does no help reduce this gap.