STUDY OF THE DETERMINANTS OF RESILIENCE AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN CAMEROON

Objective: The objective of the present study is to verify whether personal and societal determinants increase resilience among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) consulting the Support Units (UPEC) in the city of Yaoundé in Cameroon. Issue: Patients have always considered HIV to be a very serious condition, withdrawn into themselves, they face guilt, remorse, questioning, which is responsible for the deterioration of their mental health. This consideration of illness gave rise to stress, emotional isolation and extreme depression involving low levels of resilience. Based on an empirical observation in UPEC, we were able to observe that some patients exuded good humor when talking about themselves, the illness and the treatment, while others remained in morbid denial. With altered mood. This reality would therefore be likely to contribute to therapeutic non-compliance or the development of denial of the disease, explaining the states of unhappiness among PLHIV. We then estimated that patients presenting well-being despite the illness developed resilience to the illness and strengthened their self-esteem. It is certainly true that in terms of medical care, the scientific world has made very considerable progress. However, these people remain prey to psychological damage and most often present with denial disorders, justifying non-compliance with therapy and referral to new routes other than the hospital. Method: The present study was carried out among 141 (45 men and 96 women) PLHIV regularly consulting in hospital structures in Yaoundé. The survey was carried out using the purposive sampling technique and we administered a questionnaire in which personal and social determinants constituted the independent variable. Resilience was the dependent variable. The data collected was the subject of a double analysis: descriptive and inferential. Results and interpretation: The results from the correlation analysis show that personal and social determinants have a statistically significant and positive relationship with resilience. Thus, personal determinants have a statistically significant and positive relationship with resilience (r= 0.54; p<0.001). Also, it turns out that social determinants have a statistically significant and positive relationship with resilience (r= 0.39; p<0.001). These results clearly indicate that people who have self-esteem, a good social support network, as well as a good social safety net, are more likely to remain healthy and resilient. Many members of the study populations affected by HIV demonstrate high resilience in this study.