How Do People Living With HIV (PLHIV) and AIDS Feel About the Quality of Care They Received Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Lagos, Nigeria?

Background: This study aimed to assess the perception of quality of care among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Lagos, Nigeria, and identify factors influencing their perceptions. Methodology: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted between December 2020 and March 2021 among 578 PLHIVs drawn from various healthcare facilities in Lagos where HIV care and treatment services were provided. Data were collected through pretested questionnaires and analyzed using Stata SE 12. Results: About 83% of the respondents had a good attitude toward their HIV medication, and 95.5% had a good perception of the quality of care they received. PLHIVs with higher education, skilled or professional occupations and higher monthly income had a significantly higher perception of quality of care compared to others (P < .05). Conclusion: The PLHIV in Lagos had a positive attitude toward their medication and a good perception of the quality of care they received during the COVID-19 pandemic. All stakeholders' efforts should be sustained for continuous quality improvement in HIV care in Lagos.

Investigating catastrophic health expenditure among people living with HIV and AIDS in South Western Nigeria.

Background: This study aimed to determine the catastrophic healthcare expenditure (CHE) among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Lagos and to identify factors associated with CHE among them. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted between January and March 2021 among 578 PLHIVs drawn from various healthcare facilities in Lagos where HIV care and treatment services should be provided free of charge. Data were collected through pretested questionnaires and analyzed using Stata SE 12. Results: The mean monthly expenditure on food was N29,282 ($53.2), while expenditure on healthcare averaged N8364 ($15.2). Nearly 60% of respondents experienced CHE, while around 30% had to borrow money to pay for some aspect of their medical treatment. Almost all (96%) had no health insurance plan. Respondents' group, personal income, perception of current health status, and the number of people in their households were significantly associated with catastrophic health expenditure p < 0.05. PLHIV in the racial/ethnic minority/migrants' group and those who earned less than ₦30,000 ($55) were statistically significantly associated with CHE at p < 0.001 with OR of 28.7 and 3.15, respectively. Conclusions: The study, therefore, highlights the widespread financial hardship faced by PLHIV in accessing healthcare, and the need for policies to increase financial risk protection.

Maternal and child health service readiness among primary health care facilities in Ekiti, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND:  The availability of adequate infrastructure, diagnostic medical equipment, medicines and commodities and well-trained medical personnel are essential for the effective delivery of health care services. AIM:  This study assessed maternal and child health (MCH) services' specific readiness by type and location of the health facility and compared the readiness between urban and rural primary health care (PHC) facilities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. SETTING:  The study was conducted amongst the heads (officers in charge) of PHC facilities in Ekiti State, Nigeria between August 2020 and October 2020. METHODS:  A descriptive cross-sectional study in which all PHC facilities were conducted and data were collected with the aid of the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) tool using the KoboCollect app. Data were cleaned and coded on Microsoft Excel 2016 and exported to Stata SE 12 for analysis. The level of significance was set at p  0.05. RESULTS:  Overall, the MCH readiness score amongst PHC facilities was 47% (0.47 ± 0.18). About half (52%) of the facilities had necessary and relevant equipment. Health facilities located in urban areas had more medicines and commodities compared with those of rural areas (0.51 ± 0.16 vs 0.45 ± 0.17, p  0.05). Primary health care facilities in Ekiti North I had an overall higher service readiness score (0.63 ± 0.19) compared with other federal constituencies (p  0.001). CONCLUSION:  The overall MCH-specific service readiness in Ekiti State was relatively low. Strategies to address the identified gaps for a smooth journey towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) are recommended.

Sickle cell disease prevention: How prepared are the senior secondary school students in Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos, Nigeria?

BACKGROUND:  Sickle cell disease (SCD), a common hereditary disease, can be prevented by preparing young people ahead of the conception of an affected foetus. AIM:  To assess the knowledge and attitude regarding SCD amongst senior secondary school students in Surulere Local Government Area (LGA), Lagos, Nigeria. SETTING:  Senior secondary schools in Surulere LGA. METHODS:  This was a descriptive cross-sectional study amongst 300 senior secondary school students. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using Stata16. The Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to determine the association between categorical variables. The level of significance was predetermined at p  0.05. RESULTS:  The mean age of the respondents was 15.2 (±1.3) years, with a male-to-female ratio of about 1:2. The majority (90.0%) of the respondents were aware of SCD, 63.0% had good knowledge, although less than half of them (46.3%) knew SCD to be a blood disorder, whilst about two-thirds (53.1%) knew that it was an inherited condition. About one fifth (24.4%) of them knew about prevention by genetic counselling. The majority (97.0%) of them had a positive attitude towards SCD. Over two-thirds (72.6%) were aware of their genotype. The prevalence of SCD was 2.0%, whilst 18.9% of them were carriers of the sickle cell trait. Knowing their SCD status but not necessarily their genotype was significantly associated with their attitude towards the disease (p = 0.014). CONCLUSION:  The prevention of SCD was not known to the majority, and better attitudes were more likely when the SCD status was known. Therefore, routine screening and counselling could potentially aid SCD control.