AEGiS-15IAC: Hearing-impaired persons; forgotten Soldiers in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

15th International AIDS Conference


Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

DonateNow
Print this article

Hearing-impaired persons; forgotten Soldiers in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. D10061)

Ofole NM, Uwakwe CB
University of Ibadan,, Oyo State., Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, about 70 million individuals have hearing problem. out of the 5.8 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS are hearing impaired persons. Because they suffer from all degrees of hearing loss, ranging from slight to profound, the hearing impaired rarely benefit from most HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programs. Yet they are commonly found amongst the normal population and thus constitute a major health problem. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare differences between HIV/AIDS knowledge of hearing impaired persons and a control sample of hearing participation.

METHOD: AIDS risk KAPB test (Kelly et al, 1988) was administered to 41 hearing-impaired individuals with mean age of 24, and hearing persons with a mean age of 27.

RESULT: Overall, HIV/AIDS knowledge of the hearing - impaired persons was significantly inferior to the hearing persons (t: P< 05)Implication and recommendation: Despite all the HIV/AIDS programs in Nigeria, the hearing impaired persons are still underserved. It is therefore imperative for program designers to adapt IEC materials, radio and TV messages to benefit every segment of the population.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV, HIV Seropositivity, HIV Infections, Military Personnel, Hearing Impaired Persons, Health Planning Guidelines, HIV-1, Anti-HIV Agents, Population, Hearing Disorders, Nigeria

040711
D10061

Copyright © 2004 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.