Factor influencing HIV care continuum among people living with HIV in western Kenya

Abstract

HIV infection is associated with a lot of morbidity and mortality especially in high burden countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Despite great progress in improving HIV testing and access to ART for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Sub Saharan Africa, ART coverage remains low and majority of people with HIV are still unaware of their status. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the predictors of HIV continuum care in Gucha Sub County in Kisii, an area with a high HIV prevalence of 8.9% in Kenya. This was carried out through a cross-sectional study and participants were randomly selected amongst HIV positive clients in comprehensive care centers and community based support groups in Gucha. Data was collected using a semi structured interview guided questionnaires Categorical data was analysed using Chi- Square. SPSS was used to compute the statistics. This study revealed that majority 97(80.17%) of the participants were female since men are less likely to report and enroll in HIV care when they test HIV positive. Male tend to seek health care when severely ill. The study results show that participants had low HIV knowledge to make informed choice only 21(17.36%) had informed choice. This study reveals that the main determinants of ART uptake are associated with patient's education, food by prescription, site location for patient support centre and privacy. Therefore, there is need to enhance the uptake of HIV care among PLWHA an interventions targeting multiple stage must be designed, which may improve linkages throughout the HIV care continuum in the short and long term. Strategies to improve Identification of the undiagnosed PLHIV and linking them to HIV care and management is a priority in order to achieve UNAIDS goal by 2020.