Publication:

Assessment of knowledge of differentiated service delivery among HIV-positive patients receiving care in a Southeastern Nigerian State

Background Since the adoption of the differentiated service delivery (DSD) as a programmatic strategy in the delivery of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Imo state, no research has assessed the level of knowledge of DSD among HIV-positive patients receiving ART in the state, a research gap which this study aimed to fill.

Methods This was a cross sectional study carried out among the adult patients receiving ART in three DSD models and the usual care group at one tertiary and three secondary hospitals using a structured questionnaire validated by the researcher. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using the statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) version 24. All the analysis was performed at p≤0.05.

Results Of the 542 questionnaires retrieved, the female gender was predominant in all the groups. Up to 57.3% and 55.5% of the patients had good knowledge and perception towards differentiated care respectively.  A significant difference was found in the mean perception among the groups (F (3.538)=9.309, p<0.05). While education and participation in HIV activities were found to be significant predators of knowledge of DSD, (F (10.466)=3.082, R2 of 0.062, p<0.05), only education was found to be determinant of perception.

Conclusions This study has shown that the patients had fair knowledge of the DSD in all the models examined, as well as the usual group; and this did not differ significantly across the groups. However, there is need to improve on patients' enlightenment of the initiative, especially for those in the usual care group.