Knowledge and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among Hiv Infected Pregnant Women In Enugu State.
Abstract
Background: Knowledge of HIV treatment regimen is essential to ensuring treatment adherence.
Adherence to treatment is pivotal to a successful antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, to maintain an optimal level of adherence over a long period of time is usually difficult.
In Enugu state, there has been no study on knowledge of HIV treatment regimen and level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV infected pregnant women.
Objective: To recast the level of knowledge of HIV treatment regimen, level of adherence to ART and the factors affecting adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV infected pregnant women.
Methods: The study adopted a survey method and the target population was HIV infected pregnant women on ARV drugs for at least three months prior to the study.
Three hundred and ninety-four (394)HIV infected pregnant women who attended the HIV treatment centres under study in Enugu State participated in the study.
Introduction
Background Of Study
The discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in 1981 and its subsequent emergences as a leading global epidemic are well documented.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most destructive epidemics the world has ever experienced.
Presently an estimated 33.4 million people are living with HIV worldwide, nearly two third of these live in sub-Saharan African.
In a new national survey conducted by the federal government for the 2012 National HIV/AIDs and reproductive health survey-plus (NARHS plus) Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is now 3.4 percent with Rivers State leading other states in the country with a prevalence rate of 15.2 percent.
However, Ekiti State has the least prevalence rate of 0.2 percent.
HIV is transmitted from an infected person to an uninfected person by two major modes namely, horizontal transmission (transmission between two individuals who exist separately) and vertical transmission [mother to child transmission (MTCT)].4
Vertical transmission refers to the situation where an infant of an HIV-infected mother acquires the HIV infection from the mother at one or more of the following stages:
Transplacentally in the uterus during pregnancy, perinatally during the process of labour and delivery, and postnatally during breastfeeding.5,6
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