International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science

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Perceived Social Support and Its Association with Depression Among Patients Infected with HIV: A Hospital Based Study in Jos, Nigeria

Received: 20 April 2019    Accepted: 28 May 2019    Published: 10 June 2019
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Abstract

The chronicity of HIV infection predisposes the infected to mental health problems such as depression that demand a need for social support. The perception of social support is key to its beneficial effects. This study aimed to assess the level of perceived social support and its association with depression among patients infected with HIV in a hospital in Jos, Nigeria. In a cross-sectional study, 386 participants selected by systematic random sampling were interviewed to obtain their sociodemographic information, and they were assessed for perceived social support and depression using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the PHQ-9 Questionnaire respectively. Data was analysed using Epi info version 7. Half the proportion of participants (50.5%) had a moderate level of perceived social support, while 39.9% and 9.6% had low and high levels of perceived social support respectively. Female gender, age ≥ 45 years, absence of a history of being affiliated with a HIV support group, low educational status, low income, unemployment and shorter duration of known HIV diagnosis were negatively associated with lower levels of perceived social support. The prevalence of depression was 32.6%, and lower levels of perceived social support were significantly associated with depression. The results suggest gaps in the social support needs of the participants. This highlights a need for interventions aimed at improving the perception of social support among people living with HIV. Further studies are needed to identify those unmet needs so as to device strategies to address them in order to close the gaps in perception and enhance mental health in HIV care.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19
Published in International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science (Volume 5, Issue 1, June 2019)
Page(s) 68-75
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Perceived Social Support, Depression, HIV

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Family Medicine, University of Jos, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

  • Department of Family Medicine, University of Jos, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

  • Department of Psychiatry, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Department of Psychiatry, University of Jos, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

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    Halima Mwuese Sule, Mark Davou Gyang, Michael Terkura Agbir, Kingsley Mayowa Okonoda. (2019). Perceived Social Support and Its Association with Depression Among Patients Infected with HIV: A Hospital Based Study in Jos, Nigeria. International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science, 5(1), 68-75. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19

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    ACS Style

    Halima Mwuese Sule; Mark Davou Gyang; Michael Terkura Agbir; Kingsley Mayowa Okonoda. Perceived Social Support and Its Association with Depression Among Patients Infected with HIV: A Hospital Based Study in Jos, Nigeria. Int. J. HIV/AIDS Prev. Educ. Behav. Sci. 2019, 5(1), 68-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19

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    AMA Style

    Halima Mwuese Sule, Mark Davou Gyang, Michael Terkura Agbir, Kingsley Mayowa Okonoda. Perceived Social Support and Its Association with Depression Among Patients Infected with HIV: A Hospital Based Study in Jos, Nigeria. Int J HIV/AIDS Prev Educ Behav Sci. 2019;5(1):68-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19,
      author = {Halima Mwuese Sule and Mark Davou Gyang and Michael Terkura Agbir and Kingsley Mayowa Okonoda},
      title = {Perceived Social Support and Its Association with Depression Among Patients Infected with HIV: A Hospital Based Study in Jos, Nigeria},
      journal = {International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {68-75},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20190501.19},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijhpebs.20190501.19},
      abstract = {The chronicity of HIV infection predisposes the infected to mental health problems such as depression that demand a need for social support. The perception of social support is key to its beneficial effects. This study aimed to assess the level of perceived social support and its association with depression among patients infected with HIV in a hospital in Jos, Nigeria. In a cross-sectional study, 386 participants selected by systematic random sampling were interviewed to obtain their sociodemographic information, and they were assessed for perceived social support and depression using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the PHQ-9 Questionnaire respectively. Data was analysed using Epi info version 7. Half the proportion of participants (50.5%) had a moderate level of perceived social support, while 39.9% and 9.6% had low and high levels of perceived social support respectively. Female gender, age ≥ 45 years, absence of a history of being affiliated with a HIV support group, low educational status, low income, unemployment and shorter duration of known HIV diagnosis were negatively associated with lower levels of perceived social support. The prevalence of depression was 32.6%, and lower levels of perceived social support were significantly associated with depression. The results suggest gaps in the social support needs of the participants. This highlights a need for interventions aimed at improving the perception of social support among people living with HIV. Further studies are needed to identify those unmet needs so as to device strategies to address them in order to close the gaps in perception and enhance mental health in HIV care.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - The chronicity of HIV infection predisposes the infected to mental health problems such as depression that demand a need for social support. The perception of social support is key to its beneficial effects. This study aimed to assess the level of perceived social support and its association with depression among patients infected with HIV in a hospital in Jos, Nigeria. In a cross-sectional study, 386 participants selected by systematic random sampling were interviewed to obtain their sociodemographic information, and they were assessed for perceived social support and depression using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the PHQ-9 Questionnaire respectively. Data was analysed using Epi info version 7. Half the proportion of participants (50.5%) had a moderate level of perceived social support, while 39.9% and 9.6% had low and high levels of perceived social support respectively. Female gender, age ≥ 45 years, absence of a history of being affiliated with a HIV support group, low educational status, low income, unemployment and shorter duration of known HIV diagnosis were negatively associated with lower levels of perceived social support. The prevalence of depression was 32.6%, and lower levels of perceived social support were significantly associated with depression. The results suggest gaps in the social support needs of the participants. This highlights a need for interventions aimed at improving the perception of social support among people living with HIV. Further studies are needed to identify those unmet needs so as to device strategies to address them in order to close the gaps in perception and enhance mental health in HIV care.
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