Impacts of HIV/AIDS health facilities in the care and management of HIV clients at Kaduna state, Nigeria

Abstract

Background In the last two decades, nongovernmental organizations have played tremendous roles in the prevention and control of HIV infections in developing countries. Objective of the study This prospective study evaluated the impacts of an HIV/AIDS health facility and its roles in care, treatment, and management of HIV-infected clients at the Centre for Integrated Health Programmes Kwoi, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Materials and methods This study involved staff (technical, operations, and managerial) and HIV/AIDS clients. Out of 2259 clients who attended a pretest counseling session, 997 (44.1%) of them came individually, 1251 (55.4%) as groups, and 11 (0.5%) as couples. All staff (n=54) and 200 randomly selected HIV clients were administered structured questionnaires to collect data on their perception toward services provided by the facility. Results Findings from the staff revealed that HIV counseling, testing, care, and treatment were fully functional. However, the center had only 40% staff strength and 55% availability of service equipment; 70% of the clients were contacted for HIV voluntary counseling and testing through outreach, whereas 30% were contacted through routine outpatient visit. The facility managerial staff revealed that there was 60% funding of the healthcare center and these were wholly by the US government/international nongovernmental organizations. Out of the 200 clients interviewed, 70% accepted that the center was accessible, 85% were satisfied with the care provided by the center, and 100% consented to the fact that the services were 100% free; 90% of the clients suggested the need for more funding of the facility, and 96.7% of the clients requested for improvement in the quality of services provided. Conclusion The HIV healthcare facility has essentially assisted in the care, treatment, and management of HIV infected persons. However, there is need for more support (possibly from host government) by providing resources needed for adequate and efficient execution of HIV healthcare services.

Keywords

• hiv care services
• hiv/aids
• voluntary counseling
• voluntary testing