Beauty Mawuenam Nanewortor1, Farrukh Ishaque Saah2, Prince Kubi Appiah1, Hubert Amu3, Kwaku Kissah-Korsah4. 1. Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana. fsaahpnur14@uhas.edu.gh. 3. Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana. 4. Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nutrition among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is essential in their care and management as it has implication for their immune function. We examined the nutritional status and associated factors among HIV positive clients accessing Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) at a public hospital in Ghana. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 152 clients. Anthropometric measurements for weight and height were carried out in 2019. Data were analysed using SPSS 22.0. Descriptive and analytical statistics comprising frequency, percentage, and binary logistic regression were adopted in presenting the results. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent and 74% of the clients had good nutrition knowledge and attitude, respectively. Also, 42% were malnourished (underweight = 13.8%, and overweight = 28.3%). Clients with primary (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.07-1.84), JSS/JHS (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08-0.84), SSS/SHS (AOR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.05-1.02) and tertiary (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08-0.88) were less likely to be malnourished compared with those with no formal education. Those with good nutrition-related knowledge were 56% (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.18-1.09) less likely to be malnourished than those with poor knowledge; this was however, not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence of malnutrition among the clients which militates against progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.3 and 3.4 of stopping AIDS epidemic and preventing premature deaths from malnutrition. Our findings justify the need for the implementation of innovative interventions by stakeholders in Ghana's health industry to improve the nutritional status of people living with the disease.
BACKGROUND: Nutrition among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is essential in their care and management as it has implication for their immune function. We examined the nutritional status and associated factors among HIV positive clients accessing Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) at a public hospital in Ghana. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 152 clients. Anthropometric measurements for weight and height were carried out in 2019. Data were analysed using SPSS 22.0. Descriptive and analytical statistics comprising frequency, percentage, and binary logistic regression were adopted in presenting the results. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent and 74% of the clients had good nutrition knowledge and attitude, respectively. Also, 42% were malnourished (underweight = 13.8%, and overweight = 28.3%). Clients with primary (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.07-1.84), JSS/JHS (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08-0.84), SSS/SHS (AOR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.05-1.02) and tertiary (AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08-0.88) were less likely to be malnourished compared with those with no formal education. Those with good nutrition-related knowledge were 56% (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.18-1.09) less likely to be malnourished than those with poor knowledge; this was however, not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence of malnutrition among the clients which militates against progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.3 and 3.4 of stopping AIDS epidemic and preventing premature deaths from malnutrition. Our findings justify the need for the implementation of innovative interventions by stakeholders in Ghana's health industry to improve the nutritional status of people living with the disease.
Entities:
Keywords:
Ghana; HIV/AIDS; Nutritional knowledge; Nutritional status; People living with HIV/AIDS