Environmental and Socio-cultural Factors Associated with HIV/AIDS Vulnerability in Gombe State, Nigeria: A Multivariate Factor Analytic Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i5.305Keywords:
HIV/AIDS, Environmental factors, Socio-cultural factors, Exploratory factor analysisAbstract
HIV/AIDS remains a significant public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where vulnerability profiles are shaped by environmental and socio-cultural settings. This paper investigates environmental and socio-cultural variables linked to HIV/AIDS vulnerability in Gombe State, Nigeria, using exploratory factor analysis. A cross-sectional design with purposive sampling was employed, involving 384 participants’ people living with HIV and medical practitioners—across the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Data were collected electronically via Kobo Toolbox and analysed using descriptive statistics, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure, Bartlett's test of sphericity, maximum-likelihood exploratory factor analysis, and Cronbach's alpha. HIV prevalence in 2024 ranged from 0.29 to 8.89 per 10,000 population across LGAs. KMO values were 0.56 (environmental) and 0.58 (socio-cultural), indicating weak but acceptable sampling adequacy. The Kaiser criterion retained four environmental factors (eigenvalues > 1) explaining 48.75% of total variance, and four socio-cultural factors explaining 52.34%. Environmental loadings included climate, safe drinking water, noise pollution, sanitation, and greenery; socio-cultural loadings included cultural beliefs, condom attitudes, media exposure, community support, and gender roles. Cronbach's alpha was low for both domains (0.386 and 0.373), indicating heterogeneity among dimensions rather than a homogeneous construct. The findings support multi-dimensional frameworks for HIV prevention that integrate environmental and socio-cultural factors alongside biomedical interventions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Bello Muhammad Yahaya, Aliyu Umar Shelleng, Alaba Lamidi Sarumoha (Author)
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