Prevalence of Depression and Associated Factors among People Living with HIV in Care and Treatment Clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/tmj.v33i4.544Keywords:
Prevalence, Depression, People Living with HIV, Care and Treatment Clinic, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaAbstract
Background
Depression is the most common mental health disorder among HIV patients. It affects between 20–30% of people receiving antiretroviral treatment worldwide. In Tanzania, there is a dearth of studies on depression among people living with HIV.
Aim
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and associated factors among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Care and Treatment Clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Methodology
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among PLWH aged 18 years and above in Care and Treatment Centres in Dar es Salaam. The convenient sampling method was used to select 292 participants. Data related to depression were collected by using Patient Health Questionnaires-version 9 (PHQ-9). Data were cleaned and analysed descriptively by using the computer software IBM SPSS version 21. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to determine the prevalence of depression and associated factors. A p-value of < 0.05 was used to ascertain significant relationships between dependent and independent variables.
Results
A total of 292 participants were recruited. The mean participants’ age was 38.7 years (SD = 9.6). Nearly three-quarters of the participants were females, and 71.6% had lived with HIV between 1 and 5 years. The findings showed that 52.4%, 16.8%, 6.2%, 3.1%, and 0.3% had minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depressive symptoms respectively. Generally, the overall prevalence of depression was 9.6%. About 35% of participants faced difficulties in managing depression. Females were significantly more likely to experience depression compared to males. Other demographic characteristics did not show any association with depression.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Depression is high among PLWH. Mental health services need to be incorporated into the national HIV programs as one of the important interventions in addressing the needs of PLWH in Tanzania.