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Objectives: To examine the prevalence of HIV infection, neuropsychiatric disorders, psychiatric symptoms/signs, alcohol use/misuse, CD4 cell counts and risk factors in adult patients. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Epworth, which is about 15km on the southeastern part of Harare, Zimbabwe. Subjects: Two hundred subjects were included in the study out of which six were excluded beacause of HIV-1 indeterminate results. Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of 200 subjects recruited in a crosssectional study in Epworth, Zimbabwe. Six subjects had indeterminate HIV-I antibody results and were excluded from the study. The remaining 194 subjects of whom 101 (52.1%) knew about their sero-status and were consecutively recruited, whereas, 93 (47.9%) did not know about their sero-status and were recruited by a systematic random sampling method (1-in-3). They were then interviewed about neuropsychiatric disorders using BPRS, MADRS, AUDIT and MINI Mental State Test, including the risk factors related to HIV infection. After ELISA tests' results, the two groups were combined and then categorised into HIV positive (n=115) and HlV negative (n=79) subjects. Main outcome measures: Prevalence, neuropsychiatric disorders, increased CD4 cell counts and risk factors associated with HIV infection.Results: The findings were that the overall point prevalence of the HIV infection was 59.3% (115/194). Comparative analyses between seropositive and seronegative HIV/AIDS subjects showed: over two thirds (71.3%) of the HIV positive subjects suffered from psychiatric disorders, more than those with HIV negative 44.3% (OR= 3.12, 95% Cl= 1.64-5.95, P=0.0002), and subjects aged 35 years and less were mostly HIV seronegatives (n= 77.2%, OR= 2.34, 95% CI= 1.18-4.75, P=0.014). The overall prevalence of alcohol use/misuse was 41(21.1%), with higher prevalence rate among HIV positive subjects, 28 (24.3%) than those who were HIV negative, 13 (16.5%). The commonest psychiatric symptoms/signs (P<0.05) were emotional withdrawal, depressed mood, suspiciousness, apparent sadness, reduced sleep and suicidal thoughts (specially among women). Conclusion: There is very high point prevalence of HIV/AIDS and psychiatric disorders, including a moderate prevalence rate of alcohol use/misuse in this less affluent community that warranted intervention.

Objectives: Correct and consistent condom use remains an important public health intervention against the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and other sexually transmitted infections. There is paucity of information on sexual behaviour of in-school adolescents in Uganda. We, therefore, used secondary data of the Uganda Global School-based Health Survey (UGSHS) conducted in 2003 to determine the prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse in urban areas of Uganda. Methods: A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample. Altogether 1709 students participated in the survey in urban areas of whom 179 (14.9% of males, and 7.9% of females) had sexual intercourse within 12 months before the survey. Results: Overall 77.3% (79.7% of male, and 72.3% of female) adolescents used a condom at last sexual intercourse. Adolescents who drank alcohol and used drugs were 64% (OR=1.64, 95%CI 1.54, 1.75) and 68% (OR=1.68, 95%CI 1.56, 1.81) more likely to have used a condom, respectively. Meanwhile, adolescents who ever got drunk, and who reported to ever had 2 or more sex partners were 55% (OR=0.45, 95%CI 0.42, 0.48) and 35% (OR=0.65, 95%CI 0.62, 0.68) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who had never got drunk, and who ever had 1 sex partner, respectively. Finally, adolescents who reported receiving no parental supervision were 45% (OR=0.55, 95%CI 0.53, 0.58) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who reported receiving parental supervision. Conclusions: Parental supervision may be effective in promoting condom use among adolescents. Furthermore, drinking alcohol was associated with condom use probably due to peer pressure and easy access of condoms in drinking places as condoms are not actively promoted in schools. There is need for further research on how in-school adolescents could access condoms.

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