HIV testing, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices among minorities: pregnant women of North-African origin in southeastern France.

Since 1991, the French public health ministry has recommended that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing be offered to all pregnant women. This study was undertaken to determine whether this recommendation is followed independently of a woman's ethnicity. It is based on a 1992 survey regarding knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices on HIV infection and testing among pregnant women in southeastern France. Survey results revealed that North-African women (n = 207) were more likely to have a low socioeconomic and educational level, receive their health care at public health institutions, and be less knowledgeable about HIV transmission than French women (n = 2234). They were also more likely to have been tested for HIV without their knowing it and less likely to perceive themselves as being at risk. Consent to undergo HIV testing during pregnancy was dependent on their North-African origin after controlling for significant covariates. These results indicate that routine prenatal screening appears insufficient to ensure adequate HIV testing and counseling of women of ethnic minorities. The development of HIV prevention programs that are cultural-specific and that aim at increasing physicians' compliance with the official recommendation is needed.