FREQUENCY AND REASONS OF DELAYED INITIATION OF TREATMENT AFTER DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV): A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59058/jaimc.v20i2.30Keywords:
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Delayed TreatmentAbstract
Background and Objective: The rise in incidence and prevalence of cases of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has made it a disease of public health concern especially in under-developed countries. Timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment, the only effective strategy to break the chain of transmission in the community, is a caveat in the measures taken for its prevention. The objective of this study was to determine frequency and the reasons behind delay in initiating treatment after being diagnosed with HIV among patients presenting to a public sector hospital.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the HIV center of Aziz Bhatti Hospital, Gujrat for six months after approval from ERB. About 200 diagnosed HIV patients fulfilling the selection criteria were included in the study after an informed consent. Data were collected by personal interviews and information regarding their timing of initiation of therapy and reasons behind delay in treatment were noted in a questionnaire. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 23.0 and cross tabulation was done keeping p-value <0.05 as significant.
Results: Among 200 study participants, mean age was 26.5 ± 5.68 years including 126 (63%) males and 74 (27%) females. About 34 (17%) of patients were found to have a delay in initiation of treatment for more than 6 months. Patients reported multiple reasons behind the delay in initiation of treatment the most frequent was being in denial in which they did not believe the test results 32 (94%) followed by difficulty in accessing health care 28 (82.3%). Age was found to be significantly related with delay (p= <0.001) while relationship of gender with delay in treatment was found to be insignificant.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that a considerable proportion of patients diagnosed with HIV delay their treatment because of lack of acceptance of results or access to health care. Proper educational session of these patients along with increasing the accessibility to health care facilities can result in timely management and better outcomes in these patients.
References
Akbari M, Fararouei M, Haghdoost AA, Gouya MM, Kazerooni PA. Survival and associated factors among people living with HIV/AIDS: A 30-year national survey in Iran. J research and Med Sci 2019;24:5. https://doi.org/10.4103/jrms.JRMS_630_18)
Hussain A, Hussain S, Ali S, Ali E, Mehmood A, Farwa
A. HIV/AIDS-AGrowing Epidemic in Pakistan. Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences 2018; 7(10):14260/jemds/2018/240.
Pacheco PRG, Zara ALS, Silva e Souza LC, Turchi MD. Late Onset of Antiretroviral Therapy in Adults Living with HIV in an Urban Area in Brazil: Preva- lence and Risk Factors. J Tropical Medicine 2019; 2019:1-8:doi.org/10.1155/2019/5165313
Ahmed A, HashmiFK, Khan GM. HIV outbreaks in Pakistan. Lancet 2019;6(7):418.
Ali H, Zakar R, Junaid K, Khan A, Fischer F. Frequency and reasons for delayed treatment initiation after HIV diagnosis: cross-sectional study in Lahore, Pakistan. BMC Public Health 2021;21(1):1000. doi: 10.1186/ s12889-021-11031-0. PMID: 34044793; PMCID: PMC 8161554.)
Ali H, Zakar R, Junaid K. Frequency and reasons for delayed treatment initiation after HIV diagnosis: cross- sectional study in Lahore, Pakistan. BMC Public Health 2021; 21: 1000. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021- 11031-0
Siddiqui AR, Nathwani AA, Abidi SH, Mahmood SF, Azam I, Sawani S, Kazi AM, Hotwani A, Memon SA, Soomro J, Shaikh SA. Investigation of an extensive outbreak of HIV infection among children in Sindh, Pakistan: protocol for a matched case–control study. BMJ open. 2020 Mar 1;10(3):e036723.
Ndawinz JD, Chaix B, Koulla-Shiro S, Delaporte E, Okouda B, Abanda A, Tchomthe S, Mboui E, Costag- liola D, Supervie V. Factors associated with late anti- retroviral therapy initiation in Cameroon: a represen- tative multilevel analysis. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2013 Jun 1;68(6):1388-99
Saki M, Kermanshahi SMK, Mohammadi E, Mohraz
M. Perception of Patients With HIV/AIDS From Stigma and Discrimination. Iran Red Crescent Med J 2015;17(6):e23638. Published 2015 Jun 23. doi: 10. 5812/ircmj.23638v2
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 JAIMC
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The articles published in this journal come under creative commons licence Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) which allows to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under following terms.
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
The editorial board of the Journal strives hard for the authenticity and accuracy of the material published in the Journal. However, findings and statements are views of the authors and do not necessarily represent views of the Editorial Board. Many software like (Google Maps, Google Earth, Biorender (free version)) restricts the free distribution of materials prepared using these softwares. Therefore, authors are strongly advised to check the license/copyright information of the software used to prepare maps/images. In case of publication of copyright material, the correction will be published in one of the subsequent issues of the Journal, and the authors will bear the printing cost.
