Improving access to HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information among adolescents with hearing impairment in Ibadan, Nigeria: A Randomised controlled trial

Most intervention packages for HIV and SRH fail to provide special services for adolescents living with disabilities. The Family Life and HIV Education curriculum is not implemented among this group of adolescents despite the fact that consistent empirical data reveal poor access to HIV/AIDS information and services among them. Most knowledge and awareness-oriented programs are audio-visual and therefore leaves out adolescents with hearing impairment. Adolescents living with disabilities are mostly ignored and left behind when interventions and programs are designed. There are programs that care for their wellbeing, but very few that focus on their sexual and reproductive health. Yet this population adds to the burden of HIV morbidity and mortality. This study seeks to pilot an intervention for hearing impaired adolescents by providing them with information and linkage to existing HIV/AIDS and SRH services.This study will employ a randomised controlled trial study and utilize mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative methods) of data collection to obtain information from participant. The study will be carried out in two phases. Phase one will be a baseline data collection to explore the access to HIV information and services and to understand the SRH behaviours among adolescents with hearing impairment and map existing HIV and SRH services. Phase two will involve providing hearing impaired adolescents with health education to improve their comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge and link them with HIV/AIDS services available within the state. Data will be analysed using SPSS and Atlas.Ti.The immediate outcomes of this study include (1) An in-depth description of access to HIV/AIDS and SRH information and services among adolescents with hearing impairments and (2) the effect of a health education intervention using interpreters (sign language) and linkage with existing services on access to information and services among adolescents with hearing impairment