Underutilization of Healthcare Services among Clients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Abstract

Under utilization of health care services among clients with HIV/AIDs has been a major setback in making drugs adherence effective to prolong live, therefore this study was designed to investigate the factors contributing to underutilization of health care services. The study was conducted at St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias, Kenya. It was a cross-sectional study conducted from January to May, 2015, where a sample size of 100 respondents was selected using simple random sampling technique to identify the respondents from Pre- ART register. The findings show that poverty, proximity, culture and stigma has played a major hindrance to effective utilization of healthcare services, therefore an intervention through national and international initiatives are needed to increase HIV and AIDS awareness, stigma reduction and poverty levels in the region.