HIV/Aids Knowledge and Accessibility to HIV Information among Women in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria (Published)
The study was to determine HIV/AIDS knowledge and accessibility to HIV information among women in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. A total of 402 women were recruited using multi-stage random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was designed to generate data from the respondents. Data collected were entered and analysed using SPSS (version 20.0) and results were presented in tables and charts. Chi-square was used to test for association between variables at 5% level of significance. Findings from this study revealed most study participants (25.6%) were within the age bracket of 35-39 years, (91.8%) Christians, (71.9%) married and (43.3%) had undergone secondary education. Most respondents were civil servants (32.6%), traders/business women (15.7%), farmers (9.7%) and 20.3% were low income earners. Respondents exhibited high knowledge level of HIV/AIDS as the media (39.1%), health workers (18.7%) and HIV/AIDS campaigns (15.0%) were their major sources of information. About 54.5% respondents reported that they currently have access to HIV/AIDS information and other reproductive health services with primary health centers (21.4%) and hospitals as their top source of information centers. Intensifying HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and improving access to reproductive health services are core strategies in averting HIV morbidity and mortality among women domiciling in semi-urban and remote settings.
Keywords: Accessibility, HIV/AIDS, Knowledge, Obudu LGA, Women