Dietary Intake Adequacy of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural Communities of Imo State, Nigeria

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among rural dwellers depletes quality of agricultural labour, and reduces quality of life. Use of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has not significantly reduced consequences of infection, as the effort is being compromised by inadequate dietary intake. This study analy...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Uzoamaka Nwugo Akwiwu, Luqman Abiodun Akinbile
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria 2017-01-01
Series:Journal of Agricultural Extension
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.aesonnigeria.org/ajm/index.php/jae/article/view/887
Description
Summary:Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among rural dwellers depletes quality of agricultural labour, and reduces quality of life. Use of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has not significantly reduced consequences of infection, as the effort is being compromised by inadequate dietary intake. This study analysed the dietary intake of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in rural communities of Imo State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 114 PLWHA randomly selected from members of two rural support groups with high prevalence of HIV in Imo State using interview schedule. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation, and t-test at α0.05. Mean involvement in agriculture was 12.7 and reduced to 7.0 after infection. Extent of involvement in agriculture significantly reduced after infection in Imo (t=8.1). Health status of 42.1% of PLWHA was perceived as poor. Diet diversity score (4.3±1.6) was low among majority (62.3%) of the PLWHA, with diet of 76.3% being inadequate. However, perceived health status had no significant correlation with dietary intake (r=0.09). The study concluded that diet of PLWHA in Imo State was inadequate, thus there is need for extension to collaborate with the health sector to develop nutritional guideline for PLWHA in rural communities.
ISSN:1119-944X
2408-6851