Depression and Associated Factors Among Adult HIV/AIDS Patients Attending Antiretroviral Therapy at Wolaita Sodo University Teaching and Referral Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Nearly, 350 million people in the world are currently living with depression. Depression happening in PLHIV leads to alteration of economic productivity, decrease of working abilities, social isolation, physical decline and difficulties in solving problems. This study investigates the burden of depression and associated factors on HIV/AIDS patients attending an ART clinic. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was implemented from April 1 to May 30, 2019 on a total of 417 HIV-positive patients. Systematic random sampling technique was used to access the study participants. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered in to EpiData 3.1 and then were exported into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS window version 20) for analysis. RESULTS: Four hundred ten (410) respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 98.3%. The burden of depression was 50.5% in this study. Male (AOR=1.53; 95%CI: 1.016–2.311), people living in urban (AOR=2.20; 95%CI: 1.29–3.75), patients who had opportunistic infection (AOR=1.98; 95%CI: 1.27–3.11), poor medication adherence (AOR=1.79; 95%CI: 1.13–2.85) and high HIV-related perceived stigma (AOR=1.66; 95%CI: 1.04– 2.67) were more likely depressed compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION: In this study, male sex, those patients living in urban areas, having opportunistic infections, poor medication adherence, and high HIV-related perceived stigma were significantly associated with depression. Hence, organizations working on HIV programs should address these factors to prevent and manage depression among HIV-positive patients.