Problem and pro-social behaviour among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS and perception of healthcare workers on available medical and social support in Sokoto, northern Nigeria

Background: Adolescents living with HIV/AIDS (ALHIV) are likely to have behavioural, social, cognitive, and emotional problems. Early detection and treatment of these psychological issues in ALHIV is precarious to comprehensive HIV management. This study aimed to assess problem and pro-social behaviour among and to identify available health facility and social supports for ALHIV in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross sectional study with mixed methods of data collection was conducted among 236 adolescent- caregiver pairs. Key informant interviews were conducted among four health care workers. Quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23 while content analysis along thematic lines was done for qualitative data. Results: Mean age of adolescents was 14.6±2.2 years while mean age of caregivers was 37.9±7.2 years. Prevalence of pro-social behaviour among ALHIV was 6.4% (self- report) and 15.2% (caregiver report). Seventy-eight (33.1%) caregivers reported peer problems and 15 (6.4%) emotional problems among their ALHIV. Based on self-report, 160 (67.8%) ALHIV reported experiencing peer problems and 3 (1.8%) emotional problems. Eleven (4.7%) adolescents reported having low social support, 136 (57.6%) had moderate and 89 (37.7%) high social support. Viral suppression showed significant association with SDQ scores. Conclusions: The Sokoto State Ministry of Health and other organizations supporting HIV programs should ensure community enlightenment programs on HIV in order to reduce stigma associated with the disease.

Is adherence to antiretroviral therapy by recipients of HIV care and treatment receiving care in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria determined by their behaviors? A cross-sectional study

Background: There has been limited use of stage of change model in scaling up self-care for optimal adherence to ART. The study aimed to assess the pattern of behavior and its associated factors among recipients of care (RoC) receiving treatment in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 RoC between August and October 2022. The pattern of behavior of RoC was determined using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with behavior were assessed using chi-square analysis and subsequently binary logistic regression at an alpha level of <0.05 at a 95% confidence interval using SPSS version 25. Results: Out of 423 recipients on care interviewed, 85% were in maintenance phase, and 13% in action phase. The correlates of behaviors of RoC were HIV diagnosis and on ART for over a year (p<0.001), residing in rural settings (p<0.001), and those in clinically stable DSD models (p<0.001). Over 87% of those in maintenance phase were adherent to ART, however, this was not statistically significant (p=0.21). Conclusions: Almost all the RoC were in good behavior and majority of them were adherent to ART. The factors associated with behavior of recipients of care were those diagnosed and on ART for over a year, residing in rural settings, and those in clinically stable differentiated service delivery (DSD) models. Interventions that utilize stage of change model to scale up the self-care of RoC particularly among those in the urban settings is highly imperative.