PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HIV/AIDS-INFECTED PATIENTS ON HAART IN OKUGU REFUGEE CAMP, GAMBELLA, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Adane Asefa^1*Belay Hirpesa¹Zufan Asaye²Nigussie Shifera¹Wegayehu Enbeyle Sheferaw³Gebremeskel Mesafint⁴

• ¹School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan-Aman, Ethiopia
• ²Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Science, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan-Aman, SNNPR, Ethiopia
• ³Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
• ⁴Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Background: Depression is a common mental health problem in people living in refugee camps under stressful conditions, where HIV/AIDS prevalence is also high. Moreover, depression is very common among people with comorbid conditions such as HIV/AIDS. When both conditions occur together in an already vulnerable population living in deprived situations, they lead to severe health outcomes and complicate patient care. However, there is a shortage of data on the magnitude of depression and related factors among displaced populations living with HIV/AIDS in refugee camps. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with depression among HIV/AIDS patients living in the Okugu Refugee Camp, Ethiopia. Methods: A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 382 adults living with HIV/AIDS who were on HAART at the Okugu Refugee Camp. Data were collected using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and medical chart review based on a standard checklist. Patient Health Questionnaire-nine (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression. Data were coded and entered into Epi-data version 4.6.0.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics, as well as bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis were, performed. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the final model were considered statistically significantly associated with depression.Results: A total of 380 study participants took part in the study, with a response rate of 99.4%.More than half of the study participants (58.2%) were female, and the mean age of respondents was 32.71 (SD=7.42). The prevalence of depression among the South Sudanese displaced population living with HIV/AIDS in the Ethiopia Okugu Refugee Camp was 56.8% (95% CI: