Suicidal Ideation among Attendees of a West African HIV Clinic

The paucity of information on suicide and its related issues among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) can impair evidence guided intervention. This study was set to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation and the associated risk factors among PLWHA. A total of 295 participants made up of HIV positive individuals were subjected to a sociodemographic/clinical profile questionnaire. This was followed by the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), suicidal intention item from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL)--Bref scale to assess emotional distress, suicidal ideation, and quality of life respectively. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among PLWHA was 13.6%; and being unmarried, poor medication adherence, and poorer quality of life were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with suicidal ideation; while unemployment (odds ratio [OR] = 0.200; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.084-0.476; P < 0.001), emotional distress (OR = 5.734; 95% CI = 2.119-15.519; P--0.001), religion (OR = 4.829; 95% CI = 1.639-14.231; P--0.004), HIV status non-disclosure (OR = 2.630; 95% CI = 1.015-6.809; P--0.046) and previous suicidal attempt (OR = 0.172, 95% CI = 0.042-0.705; P--0.014) were not only associated but predictive of suicidal ideation in PLWHA. These findings indicate a significant burden of suicidal ideation, and psychosocial with clinical factors constitute identifiable risk factors among PLWHA. The development of evidence guided preventive and treatment measures against suicide among PLWHA are implied.