ABSTRACT
Background: The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is on the increase globally and found to be more pronounced among those with chronic illnesses even in the face of insufficient scientific evidence to support its efficacy. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the level of use of CAM and its predictors among patients on long term care in tertiary health institution. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 176 patients accessing treatment for chronic medical conditions in Jos University Teaching Hospital using quantitative method of data collection. Epi Info statistical software version 7 was used for data analysis and a value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The median age of respondents was 50 (IQR 30-84) years with 83 (47.2%) being 51 years and above. Utilization of CAM was reported among 72 (40.9%) with herbal preparation ranking highest among 56 (77.8%) the respondents. Absence of side effects (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.6918-3.2135) and consistency with culture (AOR = 4.46; 95% CI = 1.4695-6.1851) were identified predictors of CAM use. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated a relatively high level of CAM use with perceived absence of side effects, peer influence, and consistency with culture predicting its use.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Sexual orientation disclosure has been reported to promote good peer support, improve psychological health, as well as access to STIs and HIV prevention services. Hence, this study sought to assess the level of disclosure sexual orientation and its predictors among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Plateau state Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study design conducted between October 2018 and December 2019 among 114 HIV-infected MSM through respondent driven sampling technique. Epi Info version 7 was used for the data analysis with adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) used as point and interval estimates on the logistic regression model and P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 26.0 ± 5.4 years with disclosure of sexual orientation to nonpartner being reported by 45 (39.5%). Positive family history of same sex practice was found to significantly predict self disclosure of sexual orientation (adjusted odds ratio: 3.30; 95% CI: 1.2356-8.8038; P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: This study has revealed a low level of disclosure of sexual orientation among HIV-positive MSM in Plateau state with a positive family history of same sex involvement as its predictor.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Retention in HIV care is the constancy of engagement in HIV treatment, care and support services which is essential to reducing morbidity and mortality associated with the infection as well as halting the development of resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART). In most African countries, Nigeria inclusive, men who have sex with men (MSM) are major contributors to HIV/AIDS burden. HIV-positive MSM are generally understudied and mostly underserved due to social, political and legislation factors resulting in limited characterization and documentation of the existing health disparities particularly with regards to retention in HIV care. It was against this backdrop that we conducted this study to assess the level of retention in HIV care and its predictors among MSM linked to HIV care. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted among 114 HIV-positive MSM in 2019 using interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using version 7 of Epi Info statistical software version 7 and a probability value of less than 0.05 used as the cut-off for drawing statistically significant conclusion. RESULTS: The average age in years of the respondents was 26.0 ± 5.4 while 43 (37.7%) of the participants were adequately retained in HIV care. Adequate retention in HIV care was found to be predicted by awareness of regular male partner's HIV status (AOR = 11.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.924-65.167) and financial difficulty (AOR = 0.1; 95% CI = 0.022-0.840). CONCLUSIONS: A suboptimal level of retention in HIV care was demonstrated in the study with awareness of male partner's HIV status and financial buoyancy as its main predictors.
