Acceptability of routine offer of HIV testing (opt-out approach) among pregnant women in the Wa municipality

Background: With the introduction of the opt out HIV testing policy in Ghana, the HIV test is offered routinely to all pregnant women unless they decline testing.Objective: To assess acceptability of the routine offer of HIV testing antenatal clinic (ANC) clients in the Wa municipality, Ghana.Design: Cross-sectional study of 270 randomly selected ANC attendees.Results: More than 90% of respondents were in favour of the opt-out policy. The most commonly cited reasons were that it would help pregnant women know their status and facilitate prevention of mother to childtransmission of HIV (PMTCT). About 60% of respondents had tested for HIV in the current pregnancy with more than 90% reporting that the test was offered them in a manner in which they could have refused the test.HIV testing in the current pregnancy was associated with having heard of the opt-out policy (