Abstract
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are of international public health concern. Of more concern are people living with HIV (PLHIV), who have the increased risk of developing NCDs, such as hypertension, stroke and diabetes. Research has revealed that there is a relationship between knowledge of NCD risk factors and risk perceptions in the general population. Therefore, an assessment of PLHIV's NCD risk factors knowledge is quite critical, to design effective NCD prevention programmes. To assess the level of knowledge of modifiable risk factors for NCDs and its associated factors among adults living with HIV in Rwanda. A cross-sectional quantitative design was used to collect the data. The study targeted PLHIV who visited the out-patients' public health centres in three purposively selected provinces of Rwanda. The knowledge assessment questionnaire relating to risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle was used to collect the data. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Of the 794 respondents, 64.6% were women, and the mean age was 37.9 (±10.8) years. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents (65.0%) had low levels of knowledge about NCD risk factors, while some (35.6%) were of the opinion that they had a low risk of contracting NCDs. Good knowledge was significantly associated with high educational status, a low CD4+ cell count (< 350 cells/mm3) and normotension. The current study findings highlight the need for comprehensive health education, to raise awareness of non-communicable diseases' risk factors for adults living with HIV in Rwanda.
Highlights
The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and their associated risk factors, continue to increase in Af- AfricanHealth Sciences License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.that Non-communicable diseases (NCD), especially cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), such as hypertension, stroke and diabetes, are more prevalent in person living with HIV, than uninfected individuals[5,6]
The results revealed that the majority of the respondents (65.0%) had low levels of knowledge about NCD risk factors, while some (35.6%) were of the opinion that they had a low risk of contracting NCDs
Limitations of the study This current study only focused on people living with HIV (PLHIV) adults, the respondents were not randomly selected from the population, and the recruitment of the respondents occurred in health centres only; the sample may not be generalizable to the total the population of PLHIV in Rwanda
Summary
The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and their associated risk factors, continue to increase in Af- AfricanHealth Sciences License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.that NCDs, especially cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), such as hypertension, stroke and diabetes, are more prevalent in person living with HIV, than uninfected individuals[5,6]. Another study by Biraguma, Mutimura and Frantz[8] determined the association between physical and mental health-related dimension of quality of life with behavioural and biological risk factors in adults living with HIV in Rwanda. The authors found that behavioural and biological risk factors for NCDs were significantly associated with a lower health-related quality of life. These studies indicate the need for more research, to understand the determinants of NCDs in this population. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge of modifiable risk factors for NCDs and its associated factors among adults living with HIV in Rwanda. Knowledge about modifiable risk factors for non-communicable diseases adults living with HIV in Rwanda.
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