Abstract
Nigeria is suffering from the human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic with over 80% of HIV/AIDS cases in Lagos State thought to have been contracted as a result of unsafe behaviour by young people, socio-economic factors and the inadequacy of the public health services (including a lack of information sharing and other organisational challenges). This thesis investigates non-clinical HIV/AIDS activities and explores the efficacy of contemporary E-Health initiatives, including systems focusing on healthcare information, telecommunications and information and communication technologies. The study investigates non-clinical HIV/AIDS activities by studying students from Lagos State.Data was collected from selected secondary schools in all Lagos State administrative divisions, as well as Lagos State University. Schools were selected in each division (2-5 schools) using a stratified proportional random sampling principle. A questionnaire was developed based on HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention indicators. This was administered to 1000 students (senior secondary school 1-3 and Lagos State University students) through their guiding and counselling units. The pupils returned 958 (95.8%) questionnaires from 10 participating senior secondary schools and Lagos State University (Agege and Isolo campus). Semi-structured interviews were carried out with staff of the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) in order to collect qualitative data and establish the direction of the study.
The study triangulated qualitative and quantitative data in order to investigate the extent of HIV/AIDS awareness and education, especially regarding transmission and prevention risk factors. The returned questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics via SPSS®17. The empirical gaps were revealed to be: (a) behavioural challenges; (b) sexually transmitted infections - STIs and clinical understanding; (c) lack of transmission awareness; (d) condom use; (e) fear of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination (HASD) and (f) ineffectiveness of HIV Counselling and Testing centres in the Lagos State metropolis. Knowledge Management (KM) concepts were effectively adopted to propose a validated framework to tackle gaps related to transmission and prevention risk factors in Lagos State. This could raise HIV/AIDS awareness, aid knowledge transfer and unify biomedical activities with the aim of creating a centralised database as well as support E-Health activities and address issues of stigmatisation and discrimination. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) would be able to access quality healthcare and medical assistance regarding STIs and opportunistic infections and HIV/AIDS epidemiology monitoring and evaluation activities would be more efficient.
| Date of Award | 2012 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Rajeev K Bali (Supervisor), Raouf Naguib (Supervisor) & Michael Odetayo (Supervisor) |