Sociodemographic Determinants and Gender Disparities in Hiv infected patients among rural population in Eastern Cape South Africa
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: South Africa continues to experience the highest global HIV burden, with rural provinces like the Eastern Cape facing stark disparities in access to care. This cross-sectional study examined sociodemographic determinants among 218 HIV-infected individuals across seven facilities in OR Tambo, Joe Gqabi, and Alfred Nzo districts between February 2019 and February 2021. HIV status was confirmed using Determine™ and UniGold™ Rapid HIV-1/2 tests. Among females, 57.6% were single, 27.3% married, and 10.1% widowed. For males, 47.4% were single or married, with no widowed or cohabiting individuals recorded. Smoking was similar across genders (females: 9.6%; males: 10.5%), while alcohol use was notably higher among males (36.8%) than females (14.1%). Odds ratio (OR) analysis revealed that males had 44% lower odds of being on ART above age 35 (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.21–1.52). Males were more likely to be single (OR: 1.51), while females had higher odds of being unemployed (OR: 0.48). Notably, males had over three times the odds of alcohol use compared to females (OR: 3.54; 95% CI: 1.28–9.77). These findings highlight persistent gender and socioeconomic disparities, underscoring the need for tailored, community-level HIV interventions to meet the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals and national HIV response strategies.
Authors: Olufunmilayo Olukemi Akapo, Teke Apalata
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414395512
FWCI:
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