Anxiety and Depression among Caregivers of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS In Lagos State, Nigeria.

Abstract

As focus is gradually shifting towards quality care for persons living with HIV/AIDS, more people are getting involved in providing care for this large number of people. Empirical research in this direction is rather scanty, especially in Nigeria where the large number of people living with the disease portends a huge HIV/AIDS care burden. The present study investigated self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms among professional caregivers (n=26), volunteer caregivers (n=35) and family caregivers (n=46) in Lagos state, Nigeria. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Burns Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and a socio-demographic prototype. Results showed that caregivers generally reported high levels of anxiety and depression but there were no marked differences among the three categories of caregivers on measures of anxiety and depression. Male caregivers and relatively younger caregivers reported higher anxiety and depression levels than females and old caregivers. These and other findings were discussed and the need for psychosocial support for HIVcaregivers was highlighted.