Study of the Association Between Socio Demographic Characteristics and Dietary Diversity Among Adults Living with HIV Attending Kerugoya Referral Hospital

Abstract

: PLWHIV needs to eat a balanced diet and a diverse diet with foods in sufficient quantities to meet their energy, protein and micronutrient needs. The purpose of this study was to determine the dietary diversity among adults living with HIV in the Kerugoya Comprehensive clinic, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The study adopted analytical cross-sectional design. Data was collected from a sample of 169 persons and stratified random sampling technique was used to determine the proportion of each gender for the study from Kerugoya Comprehensive clinic ART booking register. Quantitative and qualitative methods which include structured questionnaire, focused group discussions and In-depth Interviews were used in collection of data. Pre testing of the questionnaires was done to 10% of sample in a nearby public facility Kagumo Health Centre Comprehensive Care Clinic. Confidentiality was observed by coding the questionnaires and names were not written. Informed consent was sought from the respondents before the data collection. Privacy was also observed as interviews were conducted in closed rooms. Completed questionnaires were kept in the cabinet under lock and key for safety and security reasons. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Chi square) were used for data analysis. All quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20 while qualitative data were analysed thematically using computer software NVIVO. The study established that demographic factors are associated with dietary diversity among HIV positive adults attending Kerugoya Comprehensive clinic. Socio-demographic factors associated with dietary diversity were gender, marital status and levels of education (p<0.05). From the findings, interventions targeting individuals with demographic factors associated with low dietary diversity scores can be organized. This can be done by the county governments, NGOs and faith-based organizations. For gender, interventions could target the male PLWHIV, unmarried individuals within this category should also be targeted. Such interventions should aim at ensuring positive dietary diversity behaviours among PLWHIV.