Design And Implementation Of HIV Information Management System
(A Case Study Of General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene)
Chapter One
Introduction
1.0 Introduction
In January 2008, the world health organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programmed on HIV/AIDS estimated that AIDS has killed more than 27million people since it was recognized In December 1, 1981, it is estimated that about 0.6 percent of the world’s population is infected with HIV. In 2007 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.5-3.3million lives of which more than 670,000 were children. A third of these death are occurring in sub Saharan Africa retarding economic growth and increase poverty, according to current estimated, HIV is set to infect 100 million estimates of 19 million orphans.HIV primary infects vitals cells in the human system such as helper T cells (Especially CD4+T cells), macrophages and dendritic cells. HIV infection leads to low levels of CD4+T cells through three main mechanisms. First, direct vital killing of cells; second increased rates of apoptosis in infected cells and third, killing of infected CD4+T cells numbers decline bellow a critical level, cell mediated humanity is lost and the body becomes progressively more susceptible to infection (Achalu, 2013).
Eventually most HIV infected individuals develop AIDs those individuals mostly die from infections or malignancies associated with the progressive of the immune system without treatment, about 9 out of every 10 persons with HIV will progress to AIDs after 10-15 years, many progress much sooner. This chapter which is specifically the First in this project research is concerned with the introduction. It discusses the theoretical background, statement of the problem, aims and objective of the study, significant of the study, organization of research, scope of the study, and definition of terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
HIV is a virus that targets and alters the immune system, increasing the risk and impact of other infections and diseases. Without treatment, the infection might progress to an advanced disease stage called AIDS. However, modern advances in treatment mean that people living with HIV in countries with good access to healthcare very rarely develop AIDS once they are receiving treatment.
The life expectancy of a person who carries the HIV virus is now approaching that of a person that tests negative for the virus, as long as they adhere to a combination of medications called antiretroviral therapy (ART) on an ongoing basis.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks immune cells called CD4 cells, which are a type of T cell (Achalu, 2013).
These are white blood cells that move around the body, detecting faults and anomalies in cells as well as infections. When HIV targets and infiltrates these cells, it reduces the body’s ability to combat other diseases. This increases the risk and impact of opportunistic infections and cancers. However, a person can carry HIV without experiencing symptoms for a long time.
HIV is a lifelong infection. However, receiving treatment and managing the disease effectively can prevent HIV from reaching a severe level and reduce the risk of a person passing on the virus (Ademuwagun, 2012). AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. Once HIV infection develops into AIDS, infections and cancer pose a greater risk.
Without treatment, HIV infection is likely to develop into AIDS as the immune system gradually wears down. However, advances in ART mean than an ever-decreasing number of people progress to this stage. By the close of 2015, around 1,122,900 people were HIV-positive. To compare, figures from 2016 show that medical professionals diagnosed AIDS in an estimated 18,160 people (Ademuwagun, 2012).
1.2 Statement of Problem
Analysis of the HIV/AID unit of general hospital, Ikot Ekpene reveals the following as the problem that militate against successful management of HIV patient’s information:-
Waste of hospital resources in terms of registration materials like patients card and patients diagnosis records
Difficulty in determining the number of persons affected by the deathly disease.
Time wasting in retrieving a single patient record which has greatly contributes to the problems faced by the case study, thus, resulting in inability to attend to all patients present in a day.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this research work is to develop an information system that will keep records of patients diagnosed of HIV in the Hospital, with the following objectives:
To design a system that will aid registration of HIV Patients.
To design a system that serve as a database of HIV Patient Record
To design a system that will facilitate easy retrieval of HIV patient records.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The significance of the study, which are many include:
It helps to reduce stigmatization among people living with the virus.
The speed and accuracy of output obtained from the computerized system will help speed up decision making and implementation.
The new system would generally narrow or reduce to minimum the problems of implementing in the present system.
Consequently, the knowledge obtained from this research will act as a tool in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS especially among the sexually actives, as unprotected intercourse is the major route of HIV transmission.
1.5 Scope of Study
This project is restricted to management of HIV/VIRUS records of patients. The study centers on General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene L.G.A.
1.6 Organization of Research
This research study is presented in five chapters. Chapter one gives a general introduction of the project, the theoretical background, the statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, the significance of the study, the scope of the study, organization of the research and the definition of terms. Chapter two focuses on the review of related literature. Chapter three is concerned with the system analysis of the existing and new systems, and design of the new system. Chapter four consists of system implementation and documentation which also include design diagram, choice of programming environment, hardware/software requirement and implementation. Chapter five contains the summary, conclusion, constraint of the study and recommendations by the researcher.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Semen: The liquid produce by the male sex organs in humans and animals that contains sperm.
Malignances: Disease that develops uncontrollably and is likely to cause death.
Antibodies: A substance produce by the body to fight diseases
Helper T cell: A type of blood cell belonging to a particular kind of white blood cells.
Pandemic: An illness or disease that affects the population of a large area.
Specimen: A small amount of something taken from an animals or plant, so that it can be tested or examined.
Anti-Retroviral Drug (ARV): Drug given or being administered to patient living with HIV/AIDS virus in order to reduce the rate of infection as well as prolong their lives span.
Stigmatization: Being treated by society as if one should be ashamed of his/her situation or action.
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