Background: Nigeria ranks third among the countries with the highest HIV/AIDS burden in the world, next only to India and South Africa. The North-Central zone which Kwara State belongs to has the highest concentration of HIV prevalence rate of 7.5%, while the North-Western zone recorded the lowest prevalence of 2.1%; Kwara state has a prevalence rate of 2.2%. Aims: The study assessed the coping strategies adopted by patients attending HIV clinics in a North-central city of Nigeria. Methods: The study design was descriptive cross-sectional involving 384 HIV-positive patients who were systematically recruited at 5 public service delivery sites in Ilorin- a North-central city, Nigeria was used for the study. Coping strategies were measured using the Brief COPE scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0. Level of significance was pre-determined at P value <0.05 at a confidence level of 95%. Results: Female respondents constituted 222 (58.0%) while males were 162 (42.0%). Respondents experienced varying proportion of coping strategies of which Self-distraction 288 (75.0%), active coping 249 (64.8%), emotional support 228 (59.4%), among others were the major strategies adopted by respondents. Conclusion: HIV is a chronic disease with heavy burden on both patients and health facility rendering services for the care of these patients. A good proportion of respondents interviewed adopted varying coping strategies. Sustained social and psychological support will improve further the coping strategies of living with HIV.

Background: Health is a fundamental requirement for living a socially and economically productive life. Poor health inflicts great hardships on households, including debilitation, substantial monetary expenditures, loss of productivity and sometimes, death. Objectives: To describe healthcare-seeking behaviour, access to health services and utilisation, and their predictors in a southwestern Nigerian community. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Ajebo community, Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area in Ogun State. A total of 420 respondents were studied using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect quantitative data.  Results: More than half (54.0%) of the respondents had access to public health facilities, 41.7% had access to private health facilities, while patent medicine stores were accessed by 4.3% of the respondents. Out of the 249 (59.3%) who were ill in the preceding three months, 92.4% of them sought healthcare. More males utilized government-owned health services s than females (χ² = 3.878, p = 0.049). More than half (56.4%) travelled >10 minutes to access healthcare services. Lack of formal education was not a hindrance to seeking healthcare (OR = 31.392, p = 0.003, CI = 3.323-2.347). Income earning <30,000 Naira was the strongest predictor of healthcare utilization (OR = 3.304, p =0.001, 95% CI = 2.007-5.441). Education with OR = 31.392 (p = 0.003, 95% CI = 3.323-96.570) was the strongest predictor of healthcare-seeking behaviour. Conclusion: Healthcare-seeking behaviour was not limited by lack of formal education. The utilisation of public health facilities was high among the respondents. State of employment and income were strong predictors of healthcare utilisation in Ajebo community.