Abstract:
The study highlighted the persisting global health crisis of HIV/AIDS and the recent disruptions
caused by economic and humanitarian crises along with the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors
have troubled the established HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment services which are critical steps
for preventing the disease. Thus, this study aims to address this challenge and improve the
quality-of-service delivery by developing a knowledge-based system which integrates an
intelligent counseling and medical data storage and access functionalities with the testing and
treatment services of HIV/AIDS.
The task of diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS involves several determinant rules that govern
the decision-making process. These rules play a crucial role in identifying and suggesting
appropriate treatments. Thus, a rule-based reasoning technique is used to address the problem
due to its explicit definition of facts, rules, relationships, actions, and suggestions. It offers a
structured framework for decision-making, where predefined rules assist users by providing
relevant information and the logical reasoning process for identifying HIV status and
recommending appropriate treatments. By using these rules, the model consistently generates
the same results for identical scenarios, ensuring reliability in the diagnosis and treatment of
HIV/AIDS.
The study followed a qualitative research approach and data collection methods such as semi structured interviews, and documentation. The required knowledge is acquired from medical
experts involved in HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment services in the Debre Tabor referral
hospital. In addition, governmental strategic documents, guidelines, manuals, and related
journals are used as secondary sources of data selected by purposive sampling technique. A
content analysis method is used to explore the knowledge, experiences, skills, and processes
related to counseling, testing, and treatment services. Graphical decision tree and forward chaining reasoning techniques are used to model and represent the knowledge respectively.
Angular web framework with typescript programming language is used for the implementation.
The findings highlighted the effectiveness of the KBS model in providing counseling, testing,
and treatment services. The counseling service offered information and support to individuals
undergoing HIV testing, helping them make informed decisions. The testing service accurately
analyzed samples of blood test results, aiding in early detection and treatment. The treatment
recommendation service suggested antiretroviral therapy regimen types.
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Furthermore, the proposed model included medical data storage and access services with the
KBS model for retrieval and utilization of diagnosis and treatment-related information. This
service contributes to resource management and promotes collaboration in HIV/AIDS diagnosis
and treatment tasks. In conclusion, this study presented a promising knowledge-based system
model for the management of HIV/AIDS by integrating intelligent counseling services and data
storage and accessing capabilities. Thus, it makes a significant contribution to the ongoing fight
against the disease.
Keywords: Intelligent counseling, HIV/AIDS testing, HIV/AIDS treatment