Physiotherapists’ Knowledge on Effect of Exercise on HIV Infected Persons

Abstract

Purpose: This study surveyed the knowledge of physiotherapists in northern Nigeria on the effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons.Method: This study was a cross-sectional survey. A sampling of convenience was used to recruit participants in the selected institutions in northern Nigeria. A structured and validated questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of physiotherapists on the effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the socio-demographics of the participants. One-way ANOVA and independent t-test was used to explore the factors associated with the knowledge of physiotherapists on the effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons Results: A total of one hundred and thirty-five questionnaires were administered to the respondents out of which one hundred and three were retrieved. Out of the retrieved questionnaire, only ninety-three was properly filled out, hence yielding a response rate of 90.3%. The mean age of the participants was 29.35 ± 2.68 years and their age ranged from 20-55 years. Majority (72.1%) of the participants fell within the second decade (20-29 years) of life. Male participants were in preponderance (58.1%). Majority of the respondents were internee physiotherapists and accounted for 54.2% of the total respondents. The result from this study showed that 52 (55.9%) of the participants have a good knowledge on effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons. Conclusion:The current survey concluded that only 55.9% of physical therapist has good knowledge on the effect of exercise on HIV infected persons. Further enlightenment campaign on the effect of exercise on HIV infected persons should be done among physiotherapist in the lower cadre in our region to further equip them with the knowledge and necessary skills needed for the management of persons infected with HIV/AIDS.

Awareness and utilization of physiotherapy services in management of people living with HIV among health care workers

“…Irrespective of the evidence established on the efficacy of physiotherapy intervention on HIV management, there seem to be poor utilization of physiotherapy services by PLWHA. 13 This stems the need to ascertain the cause of poor utilization of physiotherapy services by PLWHA. In Nigeria, majority of HIV based studies focused on the effects of physiotherapy intervention in ameliorating HIV/HAART complications with paucity of studies investigating factors limiting the awareness and utilization of physiotherapy intervention among PLWHA.…”