INTRODUCTION
Health education programme
is an integral part of community health which mainly based on all the health
activities and measures that are caried out within
the community to promote and protect the health of children of school and also
the school staff. These activities may take place both within and outside the
school compound. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus
which causes acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV/AIDS affects
people from all walks of life regardless of race, gender, physique, educational
background and socio-economic status (WHO, 2008). The awareness about HIV/ AIDS
among adolescents has been reported to be high (Mummah,
2003). However, a significant number of studies reported that most adolescents
still hold many misconceptions regarding HIV/ AIDS transmission and prevention
(Sabwa, 2000). The pandemic continues to spread among
adolescents without slowing down (WHO, 2005).
Information education and communication (IEC)
interventions which have been Used to alert the general public about the risk
of HIV/ AIDS have been based on the assumption that HIV/AIDS knowledge will
cause people's sexual behaviour to change from risky
sexual behaviour to non-risky behaviour
or safer sexual practices. However, HIV/AIDS education on transmission and
preventive measures has not particularly targeted the visually impaired
students (Kendi, Mwenu and Kinai, 2012). Though HIV/ AIDS education has been
integrated into school curriculum yet persons with visual impairment population
are not taken into consideration. In addition, a lot of the HIV/AIDs literature
available in schools, in print and electronic media is visual. This poses a
great challenge to children with visual impairment.
Visual impairment also known as vision
impairment or vision loss is a condition of decreased ability to see to a
degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means such as glasses (Rein,
2013). There has been little research around the world on the need of people
with disabilities with regard to HIV/ AIDS epidemic (Health and Disability
working Group, 2004). Studies in South Africa, Uganda, Senegal and Zimbabwe
reported that visually impaired youngsters have many mistaken ideas about
IHIV/AIDS and sexuality because they have lost access to information on
HIV/AIDS and sexuality than their non-handicapped peers (Groce,
2003).
Visually
impaired individuals face sexual temptations and are at a higher risk of
HIV/AIDS due to lack of knowledge about safe sexual practices. Health education
aims to promote health and prevent diseases through education-driven behavior
change activities. This study aims to explore how a health education program
could increase HIV/AIDS awareness among children with visual impairment,
focusing on the importance of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
Problem
Statement/Justification
HIV/AIDS is a deadly disease that is ravaging
the whole world. It is even worst that youths who are leaders of tomorrow are
the most vulnerable due to their adventurous lifestyle. This problem makes
awareness of HIV/AIDS to be very important to all and sundry. Though there
seems to be increased awareness about HIV/AIDS, through literature, electronic
and other forms of media. Yet all of these modes of awareness are not
accessible to pupils with visual impairment. Hence at present, children with
visual impairment are found to have poor awareness about HIV/AIDS (Dusu, 2014). However, irrespective of any form of
disabilities, every human being is faced with sexual temptations. This situation
makes persons with visual impairment to be at a greater risk as they have
little or no access to information on HIV/AIDS. Moreover, most studies and
interventions about HIV/AIDS do not incorporate persons with visual impairment.
This makes the spread of HIV/AIDS among persons with visual impairment
population to be high. Now the aim of the study will be to see how the use of a
health education programme as an intervention
strategy could be helpful in improving the HIV/AIDS awareness of students with
visual-impairment using the school for the blind at Gindiri
as a case study. Therefore, the study will answer
the following questions:
1.
What
is the mean level of HIV/ADIS awareness among students with visual impairment
before exposure to a Health Education Programme?
2.
What
is the mean level of HIV/ADIS awareness among students with visual impairment
after exposure to a health education programme?
3.
To
what extent does the application of a Health Education Programme
(HEP) affect the mean HIV/AIDS awareness of students with visual impairment?
Objective(s) of the
Study
The main interest of the study is to
investigate the effect of health education intervention on HIV/AIDS awareness
among children with visual impairment in Gindiri school for the blind, Plateau State. Specifically, the study
intends to:
1.
identify the mean level of awareness of students with visual
impairment about HIV/AIDS before intervention.
2.
identify the mean level of awareness of students with visual
impairment about HIV/AIDS after intervention.
3.
determine
the effect of health education programme on HIV/AIDS
awareness on children with visual impairment
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept
of HIV/AIDS
HIV is an acronym for Human Immune Deficiency
Virus. It is the virus that is responsible for causing acquired
Immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV is a virus that attacks and destroys the
body white blood cells that help to fight germs and diseases, when a person is
infected by the virus, the person may not notice any symptoms or may experience
a brief period of influenza like illness (WHO. 2015). This is because the virus
has a window period of six months before actual manifestation. As the infection
progresses, it interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of
common infection like tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections
and tumors that rarely affect people who have working immune systems (WHO,
2015). Symptoms occur in between 40-90% of cases and most commonly
inflammation, a rash, headache or sores of the mouth and genitals (Mandell, Bennett & Dolan, 2010). Though the duration of
the symptoms varies but it is usually between one or two weeks. In most cases,
these symptoms are not often recognized as signs of HIV infection. Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention (2010) noted that even cases that do get seen by
a family doctor or a hospital are often' misdiagnosed as one of the many common
infectious diseases with overlapping symptoms. This is the reason why Elliot
(2012) recommended that HIV be considered in people presenting an unexplained
fever who may have risk factors for the infection. HIV destroys CD cells a
specific type of white blood cell that plays a large role in helping our body
to fight diseases (Gbenga and Igbinobu,
2013). The power of the body's immune system weakens as more CD cells are
killed. As such HIV interferes with the body's ability to fight the organisms
that cause diseases. One can have HIV infection for years before it develops
into AIDS. It is when HIV has fully matured that it becomes AIDS. In essence,
HIV infection eventually leads to AIDS (WHO, 1995). In the absence of specific
treatment, about half of people infected with HIV develop AIDS while within ten
years (Rockstroht, 2010). The most common initial
conditions that alert to the presence of AIDS are pneumonia (40%) and
candidiasis. Other common signs include recurring respiratory tract infections
(Chu and Selwun, 2011). Opportunistic infections may
be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that are normally
controlled by the immune system.
However, Simonds (2003) noted that people
with AIDS have an increased risk of developing various viral-induced cancers
especially cancer of the lymph nodes. Additionally, people with AIDS frequently
have systematic symptoms such as prolonged fevers, sweats, swollen nymph nodes,
chills, weakness and drastic weight loss. In 2014, statistics from around the
world has it that about 36.9 million people were living with HIV and it
resulted in 1.2 million deaths (WHO, 2015). Between the inception of HIV/AIDS
and 2014, AIDS has caused an estimated 39 million deaths worldwide (Basic
Statistics, 2015). At present, WHO (2016) documented that the 2014 statistics
about people living with HIV/AIDS have increased globally by 12% while the
death toll has increased by 5%. In essence, it could be deduced that about 42.4
million persons worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS while HIV/AIDS have claimed
about 1.6 million deaths. HIV/AIDS is considered a pandemic - a disease
outbreak which is present over a large area and is actively spreading at a fast
rate. HIV/AIDS has become a chronic rather than an acutely fatal disease in
many areas of the world. Without treatment, average survival time after
infection with HIV is estimated to be between 9-1I years (Basic Statistics,
2015).
Concept
of Visual Impairment
Visual impairment, also known as vision
impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that
causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses, Some
also include those who have a decreased ability to see because they do not have
access to glasses or contact lenses. Visual impairment is often defined as a
best corrected visual acuity of worse than either 20/40 or 20/60(Health and
Disability working Group,2004) The term blindness is
used for complete or nearly complete vision loss. Visual impairment may cause
people difficulties with normal daily activities such as driving, reading,
socializing, and walking (Fishbein, &Ajzen, 1980). The most common causes of visual impairment
globally are uncorrected refractive errors (43%), cataracts (33%), and glaucoma
(2%). Refractive errors include near sighted, far sighted, presbyopia, and
astigmatism. (Groce, 2003) Cataracts are the most
common cause of blindness. Other disorders that may cause visual problems
include age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, corneal
clouding, childhood blindness, and a number of infections. Visual impairment
can also be caused by problems in the brain dụe
to stroke, prematurity, or trauma among others. These cases are known as
cortical visual impairment. Screening for vision problems in children may
improve future vision and educational achievement. Screening adults may also be
beneficial (Rein. 2013), The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of
visual impairment is either preventable or curable with treatment. This
includes cataracts, the infections river blindness and trachoma, glaucoma,
diabetic retinopathy, uncorrected refractive errors, and some cases of
childhood blindness. Many people with significant visual impairment benefit
from vision rehabilitation, changes in their environmental, and assistive
devices. As of 2012 there were 285 million people who were visually impaired of
which 246 million had low vision and 39 million were blind. The majority of
people with poor vision are in the developing world and are over the age of 50
years. Rates of visual impairment have decreased since the 1990s. Visual
impairments have considerable economic costs both directly due to the cost of
treatment and indirectly due to decreased ability to work. The definition of
visual impairment is reduced vision not corrected by glasses or contact lenses.
The World Health Organization (2006) uses the following classifications of
visual impairment. When the vision in the better eye with best possible glasses
correction is:
- 20/30 to 20/60 :
is considered mild vision loss, or near-normal vision
- 20/70 to 20/160
: is considered moderate visual impairment, or moderate low vision
- 20/200 to 20/400
: is considered severe visual impairment, or severe low vision
- 20/500 to
20/1,000 : is considered profound visual impairment, or profound low
vision
- More than
20/1,000: is considered near-total visual impairment, or near total
blindness
- No light
perception : is considered total visual impairment, or total blindness
Blindness is defined by the World Health
Organization (2013) as vision in a person's best eye with best correction of
less than 20/500 or a visual field of less than 10 degrees. In practice, the
definition depends on individuals' visual acuity and the extent to which their
field of vision is restricted. The Department of Health (2013) identifies three
groups of people who may be classified as severely visually impaired. Those
below 3/60 (equivalent to 20/400 in US notation) Snellen
(most people below 3/60 are severely sight impaired).
- Those better
than 3/60 but below 6/60 Snellen (people who
have a very contracted field of vision only).
- Those 6/60 Snellen or above (people in this group who have a
contracted field of vision especially if the contraction is in the lower
part of the field).
The Department of Health also states that a
person is more likely to be classified as severely visually impaired if their
eyesight has failed recently or if they are an Older individual, both groups
being perceived as less able to adapt to their vision loss.
In the United States, any person with vision
that cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 in the best eye, or who has 20
degrees (diameter) or less of visual field remaining, is considered legally
blind or eligible for disability classification and possible inclusion in
certain government sponsored programs. In the United States, the terms
partially sighted, low vision, legally blind and totally blind are used by
schools, colleges, and other educational institutions to describe students with
visual impairments. (Sabwa, 2000) They are defined as
follows:
a)
Partially sighted indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person
to receive special education in some cases.
b)
Low vision generally refers to a severe visual impairment, not necessarily
limited to distance vision. Low vision applies to all individuals with sight
who are unable to read the newspaper at a normal viewing distance, even with
the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses. They use a combination of vision and
other senses to learn, although they may require adaptations in lighting or the
size of print, and, sometimes, Braille.
i) Myopic - unable to see distant objects
clearly, commonly called near-sighted or short-sighted.
ii)
Hyperopic - unable to see close objects clearly, commonly called far-sighted or
long-sighted.
c)
Legally blind indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better
eye after best correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of
less than 20 degrees in the better eye.
d)
Totally blind students learn via Braille or other non-visual media.
Visual impairments may take many forms and be
of varying degrees.
Visual acuity alone is not always a good
predictor of the degree of problems a person may have. Someone with relatively
good acuity (e.g., 20/40) can have difficulty with daily functioning, while
someone with worse acuity (e.g., 20/200) may function reasonably well if their
visual demands are not great. The American Medical Association (2006) has
estimated that the loss of one eye equals 25% impairment of the visual system
and 24% impairment of the whole person; total loss of vision in both eyes is
considered to be 100% visual impairment and 85% impairment of the whole person.
Some people who fall into this category can use their considerable residual
vision – their remaining sight - to complete daily tasks without relying on
alternative methods. The role of a low vision specialist (optometrist or
ophthalmologist) is to maximize the functional level of a patient's vision by optical
or non-optical means. Primarily, this is by use of magnification in the form of
telescopic systems for distance vision and optical or electronic magnification
for near tasks. People with significantly reduced acuity may benefit from
training conducted by individuals trained in the provision of technical aids.
Low vision rehabilitation professionals, some of whom are connected to an
agency for the blind, can provide advice on lighting and contrast to maximize
remaining vision. These professionals also have access to non-visual aids, and
can instruct patients in their uses.
Mode
of Transmission of HIV/AIDS
The principal means of HI\V/AIDS transmission
is by having sex with a carrier. This is because the virus is found in the
semen or other body fluids like blood. However. William (2007) documented that
HIV is transmitted by three main routes: sexual contact, significant exposure
to infected body fluids or tissues and from mother to child during pregnancy,
delivery or breast feeding. Transmission from mother to child is popularly
referred to vertical transmission.
HIV/AIDS
Awareness among Students with Visual Impairment
Awareness as a concept is the ability to
directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects,
thoughts, emotions or sensory patterns (Wyart and Tallor, 2009). It is equally the state or quality of being
aware of a thing that leads to reaction in a certain manner. Based on the
premises above, awareness can be defined as the level of understanding or
consciousness one has about a thing. It involves the alertness of the senses to
be able to respond to the object, situations or conditions according to
knowledge. HIV/AIDS awareness refers to the level of knowledge or understanding
individuals have regarding the diseases. In this regard, HIV/AIDS awareness
means the level of knowledge one has about HIV/ AIDS. Evidences abound in
literature (Aboki, 2009) that the level of awareness
of HIV/AIDS among children with visual impairment is very low globally.
Seminars by the visually impaired people reported a lack of knowledge and
access to information on HIV/AIDS among visually impaired (NACC, 2006). Many
studies carried out on adolescents and HIV/AIDS have concentrated on the
sighted (non -visually impaired) population. There has been little research
round the world on the need of people with disabilities with regard to HIV/AIDS
epidemic but the few studies carried on the visually impaired reported low
knowledge levels (Groce, 2003; Health and Disability
Working Group, 2004; Kelly, 2004).The reason may be due to the interplay of
many erroneous idea and beliefs about HIV/AIDS. Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention (2015) noted that a number of fallacies exist which people hold
about HIV/AIDS. Some of such include but not limited to the following.
1)
HIV/AIDS is caused by demons or evil spirit.
2)
HIV/AIDS can be cured by sleeping with a virgin.
3)
HIV/AIDS can be treated with some drugs.
4)
Mosquito bites, handshake etc can give one HIV/AIDS.
5)
HIV/AIDS can infect only gay men and drug users.
These misconceptions mislead many young
people hence they live carefree lifestyles that most times predispose them to
HIV/AIDS infections. Another reason that has been advanced as a major cause of
poor awareness of HIV/AIDS among persons with visual impairment is the denied
access to information about HIV/AIDS. Kendi (2005)
documented that majority of the available information on HIV/AIDS are in
mediums which are not accessible to persons with visual impairment. Many
citizens are holding unto many erroneous believes and practices including
stigmatization and ostratization of HIV/AIDS patients
due to poor awareness of the causatic agent of the
disease and its modes of transmission. UNICEF (2005) noted that HIV/AIDS
awareness among young people is very poor. The awareness of HIV/AIDS is usually
created via electronics or print media. These media are not accessible to
persons with visual impairment. As a result, the student with visual impairment
seem to be at a greater risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS due to their susceptibility
to physical abuse and the lack of intervention and appropriate preventive
mechanisms or outreach (World Bank, 2004). There is need for HIV/AIDS
information in accessible formats and the development of a training manual that
is suitable for the visually impaired persons (Kendi,
2005).
Effects
of HIV/AIDS on Pupils
HIV/AIDS is a disease that causes many
dangerous effects which include health, psychological, social and economically.
Health wise, HIV/AIDS attacks the antibodies in the human body and makes them
very weak to the point that they are not able to fight against germs. This
situation makes the patient vulnerable to opportunistic infection due to low
immunity.
Psychologically, HIV/AIDS gives Trauma to the
carrier due to stigmatization and other negative attitude of the public. The
attitude of the society towards HIV/AIDS patient (which are usually negative
cause emotion and psychological trauma to the victims etc).
Infection with HIV/AIDS brings stigma around world in a variety of ways.
Goodman (2008) categorized the HIV/AIDS related stigma to include ostracism,
rejection, discrimination, avoidance or quarantine of persons who are perceived
to be infected with HIV. In the same vein, Reid (2012) noted that in some
placed, compulsory HIV testing is done without prior consent or protection of
confidentiality of the patient. These stigma-related violence or fear of
violence prevents many people from seeking HIV testing returning for their
results or securing treatment, possibly turning what could be a manageable
chronic illness into a death sentence.
Economically, infection with HIV/AIDS has
impact on the person. Management of HIV/AIDS patients is very expensive. Apart
from the fact that such persons may not be able to work effectively to earn
money they will also require significant medical care. It was estimated in 2007
that there were 12 million AIDS orphans (Goodman, 2008). In the same vein Acherman (2012) noted that returning to work after
beginning treatment of HIV/AIDS is difficult; and affected people often work
less than the average worker. In the long run, this less productivity may lead
to unemployment. Losing one's job (unemployment) especially of people with
HIV/AIDS is also associated with suicidal tendencies, memory problems, and
social isolation (WHO, 2006). This is because employment increases self-esteem,
sense of dignity, confidence, and quality of life. In the same vein, infection
with HIV/AIDS reduces the nation's taxable population by affecting many young
adults and making them to be less productive. This situation causes a reduction
in the resources available for public expenditure such as education, health
services.
Also at the immediate family level, HIVIAIDS
causes both loss of income and increased spending on healthcare. A study in
Cote D' Voire by Essien
(2006) showed that households having a person with HIV/AIDS spent twice as much
on medical expenses as other households without HIV/AIDS patient. The cost is
rather appreciating as the days go by. The additional expenditure in
maintaining a HIV/AIDS patient leaves less income to be spent on education and
other personal or family investment.
HIV/AIDS
Intervention Techniques
These refer to strategies in form of
awareness, campaign, instruction and education that are aimed at helping young
people live a HIV/free life. Most young people are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS
infection due to poor knowledge. They become victims by mere ignorance. In the
present study, a Health Education programme will be
used to help young people with visual impairment to live a HIV free life. The
HIV/AIDS intervention technique is necessary for the health of the nation.
Health is wealth, and a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. In this regard, the
essence of the intervention is to educate individuals on how to live healthily
and change their behaviour (which may be part of the
cause of their ill health) in order to enjoy health. The purpose of HIV/AIDS
intervention technique is to expose individual to some behaviours
which they engage in out of ignorance which put them at risk of contracting or
being infected with HIV/AIDS virus. This intervention technique is necessary
because many children with visual impairment do not have access to printed
media in order to get information about HIV and AIDS. This lack or difficulty
makes them very vulnerable to HIV and AIDS infections. In the submission of WHO
(2006) the purpose of health education is to positively influence the health behaviour of individuals and communities as well as the
living and working conditions that influence health. HIV/ADS is one of the
major diseases rampaging the whole world: its spread is becoming geometric;
worst still the pandemic is infecting young adults thereby creating fear about
the future of humanity. This is the rationale for a HIV/AIDS intervention
technique. In the design of the present study, the participants in the study
will be taken through series of health education topics which are basically
centered on HIV/AIDS. The reason is to adequately and succinctly acquaint them
with accurate and timely information about HIV/AIDs as well as some risky behaviours which they ought to desist from to avoid being
infected. This teaching is necessary because most of (if not) all the
information about HIV/AIDS are presented in book forms (printed media) which
are traditionally not accessible to or useable by children with visual
impairment. In the HlV/AIDS intervention technique,
other forms of information dissemination different from book or print form will
be used which will benefit all including children with visual impairment (who
are the main focus of the study). It will involve tutorial/teaching which
children with visual impairment will access via their auditory senses (ears)
which they are not impaired. The intervention technique proposed for the study
entails teaching, instructing, creating awareness about and educating the
children with visual impairment about HIV/AIDS, its causes, history, mode of transmission, effects and prevention strategies by
the researcher. The essence is to adequately inform the visually impaired
children about HIV/AIDS so as to be able to live a HIV/AIDS-free life. This
mode of intervention is considered most appropriate (Kendi,
2005) to be used for creating awareness about HIV/AIDS to children with visual
impairment because assimilation of the lesson is done by the use of the ear
(not the eye) and the brain coordination.
METHODOLOGY
The
study adopted the quasi-experimental design, specifically, the pretest and
posttest control group design. In this design, there are usually two groups
called the control and experimental groups. The two groups are not exposed to
the same treatment, but different treatments. In this study, the experimental
group was exposed to a health education programme
(HEP) (referred to as treatment or intervention) while the control group was
not exposed to the health education programme. At the
end of the intervention period, the two group were post tested to determine
whether a significant difference existed between them in terms of awareness of
HIV/AIDS. The population for the study consisted of all
Students in the school for the blind at Gindiri. There are a total of 42 pupils at School of the
blind, Gindiri, hence the population is 42 pupils.
The sample for the study consisted of 10 pupils that were selected out of a
population of 42 students at School for the blind Gindiri.
Data that obtained were analysed using the mean,
percentage and t-test. The percentage and the mean were used to answer the
three research questions.
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
Results
Research question
one:
What is the mean level of HIV/ADIS awareness among students with visual
impairment before exposure to a Health Education Programme?
From
Table 3, the mean gain scores between pretest and post-test for the control and
experimental groups highlight the programme's
effectiveness. The control group had a mean gain of 2.0%, indicating a low
impact from natural exposure or other factors unrelated to the intervention. In
contrast, the experimental group achieved a mean gain of 24.8%, reflecting a
significant improvement in awareness following the health education programme. This suggests that the application of the health
education programme greatly enhanced HIV/AIDS
awareness among students with visual impairments.
DISCUSSION
The baseline data in
Table 1 indicate that the mean level of HIV/AIDS awareness among students with
visual impairments was almost identical for both the control and experimental
groups before the intervention. Specifically, the control group had a mean score
of 65.6%, while the experimental group scored 65.2%, with a negligible mean
difference of 0.4%. This lack of significant difference establishes that the
two groups were comparable at the outset. Such a baseline is critical in
experimental studies to ensure that observed changes can be attributed to the
intervention rather than pre-existing differences (Cook & Campbell, 2019).
Post-intervention
data in Table 2 reveal a stark contrast in HIV/AIDS awareness between the two
groups. The control group, which did not receive the health education
programme, showed a marginal increase in mean awareness to 67.6%. However, the
experimental group demonstrated a substantial increase to 90.0%, resulting in a
significant mean difference of 22.4%. This suggests that the health education
programme was highly effective in enhancing awareness among students with
visual impairments.
The improvement in
the experimental group aligns with findings from similar interventions in which
tailored health education programmes significantly increased knowledge and
awareness of health issues in marginalized populations (World Health
Organization, 2018). The difference between groups underscores the importance
of targeted educational efforts to address specific gaps in awareness.
Table 3 provides
a comparison of mean gains in awareness between pretest
and post-test scores for the control and experimental groups. The control group
exhibited a mean gain of only 2.0%, indicating minimal change, likely due to
incidental exposure or natural learning processes. Conversely, the experimental
group achieved a remarkable mean gain of 24.8%, showcasing the profound impact
of the health education programme.
This finding
reinforces the effectiveness of structured health interventions in improving
knowledge and altering attitudes toward health issues, particularly among
populations with disabilities (UNICEF, 2021). The significant gain highlights
the necessity of accessible and inclusive educational materials tailored to the
needs of students with visual impairments.
CONCLUSION
The findings
conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of the health education programme in
enhancing HIV/AIDS awareness among students with visual impairments. The
baseline similarity between groups and the significant post-intervention gains
in the experimental group validate the programme's impact. These results
emphasize the importance of targeted and inclusive health education initiatives
for addressing public health disparities among vulnerable populations.
Recommendations
- Educational institutions and health policymakers
should integrate structured health education programmes designed
specifically for students with disabilities to address knowledge gaps
effectively.
- Government should ensure that health education
resources are available in accessible formats such as Braille, audio
recordings, and interactive sessions to cater to the needs of students
with visual impairments.
- Government should provide training for teachers
and facilitators to deliver health education in a manner that accommodates
the unique needs of students with disabilities, enhancing the programme's
reach and effectiveness.
- Establish mechanisms to regularly assess the
impact of health education initiatives on awareness levels to ensure their
continued relevance and effectiveness.
REFERENCES
Aboki, S.M. (2009). Blood Transfusion and
HIV-AIDS Infection. CDC Publication.
Acherman,. A. (2012). HIV in
United States. An Overview: American Journal of Health 243): 131 - 140.
Basic
Statistics (2015). Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan African. Basic
Statistics November 3. 201 5. Retrieved from http://www.hiv/awareness/org.
Centre
for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) Facts about HIV/AIDS. CDC Publishers.
Dusu, J. (2014). Prevalence of HIV among Secondary
School Students in Jos South. Review. Psychology, Healths
Medicine 17(2), 235-254. Following Sexual Assaults in Industrialized
Low-HIV-Prevalence Countries:
Elliot,
T. (2012). Lecture Notes: Medical/ Microbiology and Infection. John Wiley &
\ Exposure ProphylaxiS Transmission. Current Opinion
on HIV and AIDS, 5(4), 291- Groce, N.E. (2003).
HIVIAIDS and people with disabilities. Lancet, 361 (9367), 1401-1403.
Essien, C.C. (2016). Social Stigmatization
of HIV-AIDS Infection. American Journal of Sons P. of Humanities 2(1); 83-91.
Fishbein, M.. &Aizen, I. (1980). Content analysiS
of measures of attitudes. Military Medicine 171: 1027-1034. Use Condoms in HIV
Intervention Among Uniformed Services Personnel Essien,
Health
and Disability working Group (2004). HIVAIDS and people with disabilities.
Boston: School of public Health Boston University.
Kelly.
V. (2004). HIV-AIDS at a Glance. London: Routledge.
Kendi. L. Mwenu,
M.B &Kinai, L. (2012). HIV Awareness Among the Visual Impaired in Kenya. An Unpublished M.Ed Thesis. Universíty of Kenya.
Mandell, R, Bennet,
C. & Dolan, V. (2010). Complications of HIV/AIDS Infections – A System
Based Approach. American Family Physician 83 (4): 395-406.
Mummunah. C.J.(2003)
Relationship between knowledge attitude and sexual practices of private school
teachers in Rachuonyo, District, Kenyva.
Unpublished Master thesis Kenyatta University, Kenya.
NACC
(2006). Blood Screening and HIV-AIDS Infection. Harm Reduction Journal 6:24 Doi: 10.1186/1477-751 7-24.
Rockstrob, JK (2010). The
treatment of Patients with HIV/AIDS. Deutsches
Journal of Health 21 (4): 61 - 72.
Sabwa, PL(2000).
Sexual risk taking behaviours, perception of risk and
Kenya. Kematta Universiy.
Unpublished Master's thesis, Kenyatta University, prevention of HIVAIDS among
students of HIVAIDS among students Oj International
107(28-29): 507-515, Dol: 10.3238/fartzeb.
Simonds,
RJ. (2003). Preventing HIVIAIDS Via Blood Sereening. Retrieved from 10.10971l
00002030-199311002-00008. Simonds, R.J. (1993). HIV Transmission by Organs and
Tissue Transplantation. Doi -
UNICEF
(2005). Prevalence of HIV/AIDS among young adults. UNICEF Report. 2020.Wyart B. & Tailor, A.B. (2009). HIV and Sexual Health.
(2ed.) New York: Oxford University Press. Bridging the gaps World Health
Organization: Geneva.
UNICEF. (2021). Inclusive Education: Ensuring
Accessibility for All. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org
WHO
(2005). HlV and its Transmissions. WHO
Publication. Doi 10. 1111/i1365-
WHO
(2008). Stages of HIV. WHO Publications.
2796.2007.0191 0x.
WHO
(2015). Depression and Psychosis in Neurological Practice. WHO Health Retrovirology 3(1): 72. Doi:
10.1186/1742-4690-3-72.
WHO
(2016), Update on HIV/AIDS Infections Globally. WHO
Publication. Sponsored Project, 2015.
Williams
(2007). http://en.wikipedia.org
World
Bank (2004). HIVAIDS Awareness among school children. World Bank Gaymen. Launcet Journal of Health
9 (3); 904-910.
World Health Organization. (2018). Disability and
health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int
Wyart B. & Tailor, A.B. (2009). HIV and
Sexual Health. (2ed.) New York: Oxford University Press. Bridging the gaps
World Health Organization: Geneva.
