Community home-based care framework is an integral and integrated part of health care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study aimed to report the needs and experiences of PLWHA receiving community home-based care in a rural population in Western Kenya. The sample size for the study was 373 PLWHA who were aged 18 and above, disclosed their HIV sero-status, and were receiving any of the CHBC services. The study was a cross-sectional exploratory and data was gathered over a period of four weeks. The findings revealed that needs were mainly what they lacked which include proper health care facilities; support from the government; drugs, counseling support; knowledge and education on the disease; home care equipment and tools; and adequate qualified healthcare professionals. Another major barrier to quality care is poor road network which impacts transportation for both the health workers and patients in provision and access of health care services and other resources respectively. The findings further revealed a strong relationship between influences of adequate care on the status of the illness. Receiving adequate clinical care p=0.000 (X2 = 159.650, df =10), receiving adequate psychological care p=0.000 (X2 = 107.197, df=4), receiving adequate nursing care p=0.000 (?2 = 35.802, df=4), and receiving adequate social support p=0.000 (?2 = 35.277, df=4) significantly influenced health status of the patients. We recommend continued and timely monitoring and evaluation in implementation of CHBC for these rural populations as critical in understanding contextual factors and experiences of PLWHA for better health outcomes.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Community, Home-based Care, People living with HIV/AIDS.
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