International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | October 2022 | Vol 9 | Issue 10 Page 3948 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Luke A et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2022 Oct;9(10):3948-3959 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Review Article Associated factors and virologic outcomes of cisgender groups among people living with HIV/AIDS attending a tertiary health facility in Rivers State, Nigeria Anwuri Luke 1 *, Golden Owhonda 2 , Bright O. Ogbondah 1 , Charles I. Tobin-West 3 INTRODUCTION Universally, the human rights of women are violated every day as several women are dependent on their male spouses/partners for their livelihood as a result of poverty, inequalities of wealth, low female empowerment, and poor decision-making power. 1,2 The economically disadvantaged female gender, are less likely to negotiate safe sex and take charge of their sexuality, but more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours, and encounter diverse barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support compared to their male counterparts. 3-5 These findings are not farfetched from the fact that gender which is defined as a society’s shared belief in the socio-cultural, ABSTRACT Virologic outcome is the assessment of an human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV)-positive patient response antiretroviral therapy adherence using real-time polymerase chain reaction assays after two consecutive viral load measurements ≥3 months apart. This study aimed to assess the associated factors of virologic outcomes among cisgender groups of people living with HIV/AIDS attending a tertiary health facility in Rivers State, Nigeria. This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the antiretroviral therapy clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital from September 2020 to November 2020. The systematic sampling technique was employed to select 1600 participants; females (800), and males (800). Data was collected using a 3-item structured interviewer- administered questionnaire. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version-25 was used to analyze data. Test of association was done using Chi-square, Fisher’s exact and spearman rho test and set at a significance level of p<0.05 and 95% CI. Confounding variables were controlled using multiple logistic regression analysis. A total of 1600 participants; males (800), and females (800) were recruited. The study reported a mean age and standard deviation: male (44.53±10.50), female (40.58±9.34); virologic suppression levels; male (89.5%), female (89.6%). Having a treatment supporter (aOR=0.382; 95% CI=0.206-0.707; p=0.002) among the female gender was influenced by virologic outcome. The cisgender female group had slightly better virologic outcomes as opposed to the cisgender male group and this was significantly influenced by having a treatment supporter. Therefore, PLWHA should make personal efforts to participate in adherence counselling sessions and other HIV/AIDS support services offered at the ARV therapy clinics. Keywords: Associated factors, Virologic outcomes, Cisgender groups, People living with HIV/AIDS 1 Department of Community Medicine, College of Medical Sciences, Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria 2 Department of Public Health & Disease Control, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria 3 Department of Preventive & Social Medicine, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria Received: 02 August 2022 Revised: 14 September 2022 Accepted: 15 September 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Anwuri Luke, E-mail: ndimekz2010@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20222590