02424nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260005400042653001300096653002400109653001700133100001700150700001300167700001200180700001400192700001200206700002000218700001300238245010000251520183000351022002502181       2022                            d  bAmerican Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene10aVirology10aInfectious Diseases10aParasitology1 aDevipriya JS1 aGupta AK1 aPavan G1 aDhingra S1 aMurti K1 aRavichandiran V1 aPandey K00aKnowledge, Attitude, and Practices among HIV/Leishmaniasis Co-Infected Patients in Bihar, India3 a<p>Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious public health concern in the Indian state of Bihar, which has been exacerbated by an increasing HIV/AIDS incidence that has resulted in poor clinical outcomes. So far, there has been no investigation into the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of people who have been subjected to hospital-based supervision for VL or HIV/VL co-infection. This study assessed the KAP toward VL infection among 210 VL-infected patients (126 participants with VL and 84 participants with HIV/VL) using a pretested standard questionnaire. The findings are summarized descriptively and KAP scores are classified dichotomously (good/poor). Multivariable logistic regression and bivariate correlation were used in the analysis. The study showed that both VL-infected and co-infected patients exhibited similar deficits in KAP scores toward VL. The HIV/VL participants who had a personal or family history of VL were more likely to have appropriate awareness of and preventive practices toward VL. The independent predictors of attitude index in HIV/VL participants were education, VL family history, and marital status. There was a significant positive correlation observed between knowledge and attitude (rs = 0.634, P &lt; 0.001), knowledge and practice (rs = 0.321, P &lt; 0.001), and attitude and practice (rs = 0.294, P &lt; 0.001) indexes, and a strong correlation identified for knowledge and attitude indexes. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that treatment programs in Bihar should concentrate on strengthening KAP among VL and HIV/VL co-infected patients to prevent reinfection-related complications. Behavior change communication intervention is ideal for tackling this problem. This proposal entails building a comprehensive public health program in endemic regions.</p>
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