Knowledge of Effect of Exercise on HIV-Infected Persons among Health Care Professionals in North Eastern Nigeria

Objectives: To investigate the knowledge of effect of exercise on HIV- infected persons among health care professionals. Methods: The study was conducted at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), a tertiary referral center located in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria. Instrument for the study was self administered questionnaire validated by experts in cardiopulmonary physiotherapy and exercise physiology with reliability coefficient of 0.82, and distributed among 289 participants with response rate of 90%. Results: The age range and mean age of the participants were 20-59 years and 37.27 ± 7.75 respectively. Substantial number of the participants (46.2%) demonstrated good knowledge of effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons. The mean scores for nurses and dentists were quite low compared to each of the other health care professionals. Conclusion: More than a quarter of the participants lacked good knowledge on the effect of exercise on HIV-infected persons. This needs to be remedied through organized enlightenment programs.