Abstract:
Health-promoting lifestyles are recognized as means of decreasing the occurrence of diseases and
hence lower the death rate. The major purpose of this study was to assess the health-promoting
lifestyles and perceived barriers that affect the practice of health-promoting lifestyles among
people living with HIV/AIDS in University of Gondar. A cross-sectional survey study design
was used for this study. Data were collected using a demographic data questionnaire. The data
were analyzed using descriptive statistics for analyzing the difference between the means to
determine differences in the study variables between males and females, and younger and older
participants. The results of the study indicated that participation in health-promoting lifestyles
among the study participants was very low. Gender and age differences were observed in the
choice of health-promoting lifestyles among the study participants. Male participants scored
higher on the total health-promoting lifestyles scale. The study also showed that younger
participants were better in their engagement in health-promoting lifestyles as compared to the
older ones though the difference was not statistically significant. Unless intervention
mechanisms that can enhance health-promoting lifestyles practices of people living with
HIV/AIDS are designed and implemented, depending solely on medication may not bring the
desired outcome. Therefore, interventions aimed at promoting positive lifestyle changes have the
potential to improve one’s health. To this end, instead of solely focusing on monitoring
adherence, CD4 T cells and viral loads results to improve outcomes, clinicians need to include
individualized counseling, patient education, and cognitive therapies to improve lifestyle choices
in their management or care plans. In addition, necessary supports that can play greater role in
alleviating the perceived barriers need to be provided by the concerned bodies.
