Socio-Demographic Variables of People Living with HIV/AIDS Initiated on ART in 2014 at Tertiary Health Institution in Enugu State

Background Information: Survival of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) has increased since the emergency of High active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996.

Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The study population consisted of those diagnosed for HIV / AIDS at tertiary health institutions in Enugu State. The total numbers of clients enrolled were 793 and 249 clients were loss to follow up, majority was males. Those initiated on ART were 544. Clients of age <15 years were excluded and they were 31 clients. Finally, 500 clients were selected, males were 138 and female were 362 by simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected from HIV / AIDS patients ART record cards, registers and institutions data units for those initiated on ART in 2014 using a designed proforma. Those clients aged 15 years and above were retrospectively studied between 2014 and 2018 and some of them that survived after five years (60 months) on ART were interviewed by applying simple random sampling technique. Cohort inclusion begins at initiation on ART with follow-up clinical information collected year by year for five years. IBM SPSS statistics version 24.0 was used. Chi square test was used to assess association between categorical variables and the level of statistical significance of the proportions was determined by a P-value less than 0.05. Manual content analysis was used for the interview and probability of dying and surviving analysis.

Results: The mean age (±SD) is 38.8±11.5 years. On outcome of ART, 374 (74.8%) were under care, those loss to follow up were 66 (13.2 %), 29 (5.8%) died within the period of study and 31 (6.2%) were transferred out. Adherence was statistically significant, p<0.001 among clients who had obtained tertiary 105 (92.1%) and secondary, 124 (57.7%) education, who lived within the state with the place of care, 234 (76.0%), and those retired, 12 (63.2%) and the unemployed, 46 (61.3%).

Conclusion: Based on the study, HIV prevalence in Nigeria now appears to have assumed a downward trend following the availability of ART and a relative stability from 2012 to 2018, yet a sustained and more effective intervention is still needed to avert increase incidence by most-at–risk subpopulations in the Enugu State.