The Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation among People Living With HIV and Aids Attending Art Clinic at Adult Centre of Excellence University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka

Abstract

Background: Suicidal ideation has long been associated with HIV infected populations worldwide. It has been found that HIV does not only attack the immune system of an individual but also the nervous system leading to psychological dysfunction of an individual. Objective: To establish the prevalence of suicidal ideation among people living with HIV and AIDS. Method: A cross sectional quantitative design was adopted. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the sample. The total sample comprised of 280 participants. A social demographic questionnaire and Suicidal Risk Screening Scale (SRSS) were used to collect data. Results: The study findings from the SRSS test revealed that (n=193, 69%) of the participants had lower suicide risk while (n=87, 31%) fell into the higher suicide risk category. The study therefore showed that the prevalence of suicidal ideation was 31%. Conclusion: Suicidal ideation was prevalent among people living with HIV and Aids.

دراسة حول الافكار الانتحارية ومحاولة الانتحار بين مرضى فيروس نقص المناعة البشرية في مركز امدرمان القومي للارشاد النفسي والفحص التطوعي ولاية الخرطوم - السودان (2021-2022)

“…[35] Mwenya et al found that prevalence of suicidal ideation in HIV patients in the ART Clinic Centre in Zambia ( 2018) was 31%, they used suicidal risk screening scale (SRSS) for data collection. [36] Schlebusch et al carried out a study in 190 adult patients in VCT Centre in South Africa (2018), in the 83.1% of the patients who tested HIV-positive the risk of suicidal ideation was 20.5% at 72 hours, while 6 weeks thereafter the risk had increased to 28.8%. They found significant association between suicidal ideation and seropositive HIV status (𝑝 Value = 0.013).…”