A Sudy on Responses to Intimate Partner Violence by HIV Positive Women Attending Kericho County Referral Hospital Comprehensive Care Centre in Kericho, Kenya

Abstract

The primary goal of this study was to examine how HIV positive women attending the Kericho County Referral Hospital Comprehensive Care Centre respond to domestic abuse. Available data indicate that 55% of women and 20% of men living with HIV infection experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and that 24% of women experience abuse by their partners after disclosing their HIV serostatus. IPV increases the risk of HIV acquisition and often interferes with victims' engagement in and adherence to HIV care. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized. Between May and July 2013, 230 HIV positive women over the age of 15 were systematically sampled. To acquire qualitative and quantitative data, interview schedules and focus group discussions were employed. To determine frequencies and themes, content analysis was performed, and SPSS 20.0 and Microsoft Excel were used to enter and evaluate the data. Intimate partner violence (IPV) was experienced by 156 of the 230 women questioned. According to the survey, physical abuse (57.8%) was the most prevalent type of IPV, while sexual abuse (4.9%) was the least common. Furthermore, 25.6% of the women interviewed reported an increase in violence after being diagnosed with HIV. The majority of abused individuals (45.5%) left and talked to a friend (21.2%) in response to IPV. As a result, HIV and IPV are syndemic concerns that must be addressed in order for an HIV program to be successful. IPV was shown to have a substantial impact on HIV positive women attending Kericho District Hospital (KDH). There is a pressing requirement for IPV screening and management techniques to be included into the HIV prevention program at KDH, as well as IPV training for health practitioners. The CCC's health treatment should include trauma-informed care.