Effect of Cognitive Processing Therapy on Self-Stigma and Quality of Life of Persons Newly Diagnosed of Hiv in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

HIV/AIDS-related stigma decreases quality of life (QOL) in Persons Living With HIV and AIDS. This study was designed to examine the effects of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) on self-stigma and QOL among persons newly diagnosed of HIV in Oyo State, Nigeria. Pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with 2x5x3 factorial matrix was adopted. Forty-nine persons (male=17; female=32) newly diagnosed of HIV with age range of 20-45 years were purposively drawn from Antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres in three hospitals in Oyo State, Nigeria. The three sites were randomly assigned experimental and control groups. The instruments used were HIV Stigma (r = 0.78), Stigma-9 Questionnaire (r = 0.93), and Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (r=0.83). Analysis of covariance was used to analyse data at 0.05 level of significant. Result show that there was a significant main effect of treatment on self-stigma (F (2; 33) =711.64; partial η2=0.98). The persons newly diagnosed of HIV in the CPT ( =60. 57) benefitted more than their conterpart in the control group ( =111.47). There was significant main effect of age on self-stigma (F (2; 33)=6.53; partial η2 =0.30). The participants in the age range of 30-34 benefitted more =73.08) than their counterparts in the other age ranges. There was also a main effect of self-esteem on self-stigma (F (2; 33) =13.08; partial η2=0.46). The participants with high self-esteem benefited more than their counterpart with low and moderate self-esteem =82.86). CPT is an effective therapy for decreasing self-stigma among PLHIV.