Effectiveness of Potential Interventions to Change Gendered Social Norms on Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda: a Causal Inference Approach

Prevention Science - Evidence of the effectiveness of programs to change gendered social norms related to intimate partner violence (IPV) is growing, but their potential to significantly impact...     

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in South Western Uganda

ABSTRACT

Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) are prone to depression, which can have detrimental effects including disease progression, poor treatment adherence and mortality. We aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their associated factors among ALHIV in Uganda. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among ALHIV (10–19 years) attending urban and rural clinics in Mbarara, Uganda between March and May 2017. Presence of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies’ Depression scale. We interviewed 336 adolescents with a median age of 13 years, 62% of whom were female. A third (37%) had disclosed their HIV/AIDS status and 13% were sexually active. Overall, 154 (～46%, [95% CI: 40.5–51.2]) had depressive symptoms. On bivariate analysis, the odds of having depressive symptoms were higher among adolescents who were?≥?15 years, had disclosed HIV status, traveled >30?min for routine care and had risky sexual practices. On multiple variable analysis, only travel time to the clinic of >30?min was independently associated with depressive symptoms (AOR?=?1.6 [95% CI: 1.02–2.7]). With the high prevalence of depressive symptoms among ALHIV in Uganda, screening and prompt treatment of depression should be incorporated within their routine care.     

Social intolerance,risky sexual behaviors and their association with HIV knowledge among Ugandan adults: results from a national survey

Understanding the link between HIV knowledge, risky sexual behaviors, and social intolerance such as stigma and discrimination is important for HIV prevention and treatment program planning. We investigated whether intolerant attitudes and practices among Ugandan adults were associated with HIV-transmission knowledge.

We analyzed data from a nationally representative population-based household survey, the 2011 Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey. A total of 15,526 participants who responded to questions on HIV knowledge, social intolerance and risky sexual behavior were included in this analysis.

Results show that 34.8% of respondents reported having fear of casual contact with people living with HIV (PLWA), 21% blame PLWAs for their disease, 62% would not want HIV infection in their family disclosed, while 25% reported engaging in risky sexual behaviors. After adjusting for age, sex, residence, and level of education, people with low HIV-transmission knowledge had almost three-fold higher odds of fear of casual contact with a PLWA (aOR?=?2.70, 95%CI?=?2.33–3.13), and had 30% higher odds of HIV-related stigmatizing attitudes (aOR?=?1.29, 95%CI?=?1.07–1.54). Further, they had 47% higher odds of having sex under the influence of alcohol (aOR?=?1.47, 95%CI?=?1.25–1.73) and 40% higher odds of having unprotected sex with any of their last three sex partners (aOR?=?1.39, 95%CI?=?1.06–1.89).

Our findings show that intolerant attitudes such as stigma still persist, particularly among people with low HIV-transmission knowledge. Improving knowledge about HIV/AIDS can foster positive attitudes and building safe practices among populations, and is critical for improving prevention and treatment programs.