Utilization And Perceived Benefits Of Mentor Mothers' Support Among Childbearing Women Living With Hiv In Ibadan, Nigeria
Use Of Mentor Mothers For Hiv Prevention
Margaret Omowaleola Akinwaare
Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Kelechi Ibekwe
Keywords: HIV, Mentor mother, Support, utilization, childbearing
Abstract
Across the globe, HIV continuously poses a critical public health challenge, particularly affecting women during their reproductive years. Data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS reveals that in 2022, 39 million people were living with HIV, of which 1.5 million were children aged 0-14 years, with 53% being women and girls. Peer support interventions have emerged as promising strategies to address the multifaceted challenges faced by people living with HIV. This study assessed the utilization and perceived benefits of mentor mothers’ support among childbearing women living with HIV. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study in which 370 childbearing mothers were recruited using a multi-stage random sampling method. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire, was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and presented in a frequency table. Hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance. Results revealed that 254 respondents (68.6%) were between the age group of 21 and 30 years with mean age and standard deviation of 28.1 6.0 years; 232 respondents (62.8%) were married; 173 respondents (46.8%) were artisans; 226 respondents (61.1%) had tertiary education; 201 respondents (54.3%) were not currently pregnant; 268 respondents (72.4%) were multiparous; 201 respondents (54.3%) had utilized mentor mother services; 175 respondents (47.3%) showed the need for emotional support as the factor influencing service utilization; 103 respondents (27.8%) showed making infant feeding decisions as the most valued benefits; 344 respondents (93%) identified long waiting times as barrier to utilization; age and education level (p value = 0.002), including perceived benefits (p value = 0.001) were found to be significantly associated with service utilization. The strong association between perceived benefits and utilization underscores the critical importance of effective communication about service value and addressing systemic barriers to access.