Articles Related to People Living with HIV
Increasing CD8+ T Cells and Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines is associated with Hypersensitivity Reactions in People Living with HIV-1 under Antiretroviral Treatment
Background: Despite their good efficacy, antiretroviral drugs often induce adverse effects, in particular hypersensitivity reactions (HSR) which cause significant discomfort leading to the abandonment of treatment and then to therapeutic failure in some HIV-positive patients. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to assess the association between immune responses and
hypersensitivity reactions (HSR) induced by antiretroviral treatment in people who living with HIV-1 (PLHIV-1), through the distribution of immune cells and cytokine profiles.
Level of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Ekiti State
Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral drugs slows down disease progression in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and this has improved the quality of life and life expectancy of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, optimum use of antiretroviral drugs (adherence) by PLWHA is the key to achieving viral load suppression and preventing drug resistance in them.
Objective: This study determined the level of adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) among PLWHA in Ekiti State.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 320 PLWHA in Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti and 300 PLWHA in Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti aged 18 years and above using ARV for at least six months prior to the study. Quantitative data were collected from the participants using a structured questionnaire while sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted among purposively selected PLWHA in both study centres to further elicit qualitative information on determinants of adherence. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS 22 using descriptive statistics while content analysis was used for qualitative data. Regression analysis was done to identify determinants of adherence at p value < 0.05.
Results: About 60% of the PLWHA had high level of ART adherence while 18.9% had low adherence. Most of the respondents were female (66.0%), married (76.1%) and Christians (89.4%) and had post-secondary education (43.4%). Respondents’ age (X2=32.483), educational status (X2=2.473), marital status (X2=40.083), occupation (X2=57.951) and distance from the clinic (X2=13.181) significantly influenced the level of adherence. Patient factors such as forget timing of the medication, pill burden and feeling better, psychosocial factors like stigmatization, non-disclosure of status and depression; and healthcare factors such as long clinic waiting time and absence of support are some of the barriers to optimum ART adherence.
Conclusion: Counseling on drug adherence and psycho-social support to PLWHA will further improve their level of adherence to medication.
Stigma and Discriminatory Attitude towards People Living with HIV/AIDS among High School Students
In 1987, the World Health Organization Global Programme on AIDS identified three phases of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the epidemic of HIV, the epidemic of AIDS, and the epidemic of stigma and discrimination. The report also notified that the third phase is a central issue to the global AIDS challenge and the disease itself. Despite continued multilateral efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination remain among the most poorly understood aspects of the epidemic. In this paper, stigma and discriminatory attitude among high school students was assessed.
