Home and community based care program assessment for people living with HIV/AIDS in Arba Minch, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) require significant care and support; however, most care needs are still unmet. To our knowledge, no studies have described the activities and challenges of care services in Ethiopia. Our objective was to assess the status, shortcomings and prospects of care and support services provided to PLWHA in the town of Arba Minch, Ethiopia, and surrounding areas. METHODS: A cross-sectional quantitative study combined with qualitative methods was conducted in Southern Ethiopia among 226 randomly selected PLWHAs and 10 service providers who were purposively selected. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured interview questionnaire and in-depth interview guideline. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS windows based statistical software while qualitative data was analyzed manually using thematic framework analysis. RESULTS: A total of 226 PLWHAs were interviewed. Socio-economic support (material and income generating activities) was being received by 108 (47.8%) of the respondents, counseling services (e.g. psychological support) were being received 128(56.6%), 144 (63.7%) alleviation of stigma and discrimination as human right and legal support for study participants. Inadequate external financial support, lack of proper referral systems between different care providers were among the reasons identified for the low quality and redundancy of care and support activities. Nonetheless, many opportunities and prospects, including easily accessible care receivers (PLWHA), good political and societal will were also implicated. CONCLUSION: Care and support services provided to PLWHAs in the study area are by far lower in terms of coverage and quantity. Strategies for improvement could be facilitated given the observed political will, social support and access to care givers.