Socio-Demographic and Clinical Profile of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

Authors

  • MA Khan Behavioral Oncologist/Scientist “E”, Institute of Cytology & Preventive Oncology
  • Shashi Sharma Biostatistician/Scientist “E”, Institute of Cytology & Preventive Oncology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v3i2.5039

Keywords:

Antiretroviral treatment, commercial sex workers, counseling, people living with HIV/AIDS, willingness to participate

Abstract

Although India is in the grip of HIV/AIDS epidemic, not much information is available on socio-demographic and clinical aspects of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The present study has been designed with the following objective.

Objectives: To assess the socio-demographic and clinical profile of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in India.

Material and methods: The study was carried among 251 HIV/AIDS positive persons attending the out-patients department at the antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinic of the HIV testing centers at three major govt. hospital of Delhi, India. All the patients, male and female in the age range of 20-65 years and willing to participate were included in this study during the period 2007-2009. Written as well as informed consent was obtained for each patient at the time of recruitment. The HIV status was analyzed by ELISA with further confirmation by western blot; CD4/CD8 counts were measured by a flow-cytometer. Statistical analysis was carried out using chi-square test in order to see the association between age groups for various psychological measures and for treatment responses of the participants receiving ART.

Results: Majority of the patients (77.7%) were found to be young (<40 years) and married (86.9 %). As high as 61.8% came from low socio-economic class and more than 93.6% acquired HIV transmission through heterosexual routes. A large proportion of these patients reported an extremely high level of anxiety, moderate level of stress and a borderline level of clinical depression. While some of the patients (28.3%) were well-adjusted with the ART, the rest of the patients reported difference in making adjustment with the treatment schedules.

Conclusion: The study suggests that counselling and supportive therapy could play a pivotal role in controlling anxiety, stress, depression and rehabilitating people with HIV/AIDS. Thus, proper preventive intervention among general population and establishment of proper laboratory support is recommended.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v3i2.5039

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 3(2012) 1-10

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
741
PDF
847

Downloads

Published

2013-02-26

How to Cite

Khan, M., & Sharma, S. (2013). Socio-Demographic and Clinical Profile of People Living with HIV/AIDS. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 3(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v3i2.5039

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The journal holds copyright and publishes the work under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license that permits use, distribution and reprduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. The journal should be recognised as the original publisher of this work.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).