Perceived stress and its influencing factors among persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in Kannur district, Kerala, India

ABSTRACT The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic remains a major healthcare problem for the humanity. It is important to understand the level of stress among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), which may have an influence on their living. The main aim of the study is to assess the perceived stress and the factors influencing. Descriptive study. The details of a total of 750 PLHAs registered in the district were collected, and the researcher selected 210 samples using the simple random sampling method. The researcher used the standardised Perceived Stress Scale developed by Sheldon Cohen in 1983. The data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and tests. While analysing the perceived stress of the respondents, more than half 61% of the respondents have reported a moderate level of perceived stress. The study also depicts that perceived stress is being influenced by gender, marital status, occupation, number of dependents, and monthly income of PLHA. PLHAs in the selected geographic area experience a significant level of perceived stress, which indicates the need for programmes to address it.