PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSION AMONG HIV/AIDS CLIENTS IN A SECONDARY HEALTH FACILITY IN NIGERIA

About 13% of all diseases worldwide are mental health disorders. A mental health condition known as depression is characterized by a low mood, diminished interest in or enjoyment from activities, low energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, trouble sleeping or eating, and difficulty concentrating. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence level of depression and the factors associated with depressive symptoms among the studied participants. It was a cross-sectional descriptive evaluation, carried out between October and December 2022, at Bishop Shanahan Hospital Nsukka, a renowned secondary health facility located at Nsukka Local Government in Enugu State. Data were collected using the Nine Symptom Checklist questionnaire for the assessment of depression. The cut-off points for mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression were indicated by total scores of 5, 10, 15 and 20 respectively. A section of the questionnaire was designed to collect the participants’ socio-demographics and their clinical characteristics. Ethical clearance was obtained from the hospital. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used for both descriptive and inferential statistics during the data analysis process. A significance threshold of p<0.05 was applied. The response rate was 99.6%. More males responded (50.4%). Most (64.7%) of the participants were minimally-mildly depressed. However, 0.4% were severely depressed. Marital status (P=0.02) and time on ART (P=0.016) were found to be closely associated with the level of depression. This study showed that most participants had no depressive symptoms. The respondents who were single and had been on ART medications for more than one year were more depressed than others. Though few participants were severely depressed, there’s a strong need to enforce the psychotherapy aspects of HIV management.