FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF MALARIA AMONG HIV PATIENTS ATTENDING HIV CLINIC AT KYAMUHUNGA HEALTH CENTRE III IN BUSHENYI DISTRICT

ABSTRACT

Background of the study:

Malaria remains the single main cause of ill-health and death among HIV/AIDS

patients in resource poor countries worldwide. Malaria still remains a challenging

infection affecting the lives of several HIV infected persons in Uganda.

Problem statement:

Statistics from the Ministry of Health (2016) show that malaria is still the leading

cause of death in Uganda, accounting for over 27% of deaths. Malaria prevalence in

HIV+ positive patients in Kyamuhunga Health Centre III is thought to be at 7.8% of

the HIV+ patients attending the clinic on a daily basis.

Main objective:

This study therefore aimed at assessing the factors contributing to the high prevalence

of malaria among HIV patients attending HIV Clinic at Kyamuhunga Health Centre

III in Bushenyi District.

Methodology:

The study covered a sample of eighty (80) respondents to gather primary data. Simple

random sampling method was used to gather responses among patients.

Questionnaires and an interview guide were used as data collection tools.

Results:

Results indicated that majority of the participants were female patients and malaria

was dominant among HIV Positive patients aged 38-47 years. It was noted that the

odds of having malaria also increased among patients with lower levels of education.

It was also noted that more odds of having malaria were found among majority patients

who were farmers and unemployed participants. Malaria infection was acquired with

repeated exposure to malaria parasites especially for patients who did not use Treated

mosquito nets. It is noted that HIV+ patients with malaria greatly acquired unbalanced

immunity with relative low CD4* cell count and unbalanced haemoglobin levels