A Computer Based System for Evaluating the Risk of Contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) remain global pandemics. The 2020 statistics released in 2021 showed that about 37.6 million people globally are living with HIV; 1.5 million people became newly infected in 2020 and 690,000 people died from AIDS related cases the same year. A literature search revealed that more than 1.6 million Nigerians have died of HIV/AIDS since the outbreak of the epidemic in 1985 while millions of Nigerians are living with HIV as of today. Certain factors have contributed to this alarming statistic. One of such is the unwillingness by most persons to undertake an HIV test due to the fear of stigmatization. A simple system that can be of help in evaluating a person's risk of contracting HIV without stigmatization is developed in this work. The system takes into account some behavioural factors, signs and symptoms that suggest a person may be at risk of having or be prone to HIV and thus makes a prediction of the risk status based on the input supplied. A simple framework was developed with input from medical practitioners based on their wealth of experience. The input was used to derive twenty two (22) questions centered on behavioural factors, signs and symptoms which were designed to be answered by the users during interaction with the system. A simple evaluation takes place using the user's inputs and a predefined set of rules to classify the risk value as one of (Very High, High, Moderate, Low and Not at Risk) with appropriate advice. The system was implemented in Visual Studio Environment using Visual Basic.Net. It is expected that after using the system, users will be encouraged to go for tests where it is recommended. However, it to be noted that this system does not confirm HIV status as only a blood test can do that.