Shimelis, Lijalem
Adugna, Adane
Mengist, Abeba
Article History
Received: 16 February 2026
Accepted: 19 May 2026
First Online: 16 June 2026
Declarations
Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Ethical approval and consent to participate: This research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee (ERC) of Debre Markos University (N o : Hsc/R/C/Ser/PG/478/01/17), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, along with a support letter from the Amhara Public Health Institution and the Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Participation was voluntary, and written informed consent was obtained from all adult PLWHIV. For minors, assent was obtained along with written consent from their parents or legal guardians. For illiterate participants, data collectors read the informed consent for each respondent and confirmed their willingness by signing the informed consent sheet. Moreover, the confidentiality of the patient’s information was safeguarded.