Abstract
People with underlying health conditions, including people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHA), are at great risk of contracting COVID-19, and when they do, are likely to suffer severe symptoms. PLWHA face heightened risks as a result of immune compromise, stigma-driven healthcare avoidance, and socioeconomic marginalisation, all of which were determinants extremely relevant in Nigeria’s high-HIV-burden settings. This underlines the imperative for population-specific insights, a fact emphasized in all COVID-19 communications. This study, therefore, examined information sources, knowledge, and adherence towards COVID-19 among PLWHA in Enugu State, Nigeria. Data were gathered from 300 people living with HIV/AIDS with a 36-item four-point Likert scale questionnaire, while data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated high exposure to COVID-19 information among PLWHA in Enugu State, Nigeria, with healthcare workers (M=3.31, SD=1.07) and social media/internet (M=3.19, SD=0.86) as the dominant sources of information. Knowledge of COVID-19 was high among PLWHA, while educational level (ꞵ=0.043, p=0.010), income level (ꞵ=0.022, p=0.041), information from family/friends/neighbours (ꞵ=0.081, p=0.001) and billboards (ꞵ=0.066, p=0.004) were positively associated with higher COVID-19 knowledge. In addition, there was a moderately positive perception of COVID-19 among PLWHA. However, they had a lower perception of the vulnerability of people with underlying health conditions. Receiving information from healthcare workers (ꞵ=0.073, p=0.001) was associated with positive perceptions of COVID-19, while exposure to television (ꞵ=0.110, p=0.020) predicted negative perceptions. Adherence with COVID-19 preventive practices was significantly higher among males compared to females (ꞵ=0.171, p=0.000), urban residence (ꞵ=0.140, p=0.003) and exposure to billboards (β = 0.077, p = 0.021). The findings of this study reinforce the need for targeted messages through trusted, contextually appropriate channels to address PLWHA’s distinct vulnerabilities.