The Value of Support Group Participation in Influencing Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment among People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
World Journal of AIDS
Abstract
Advances in antiretroviral therapy for both Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment and
prevention have increased interest in adherence to HIV treatment. This is because the individual
patient and public health benefits of antiretroviral treatment (ART) greatly depend on the extent
to which people living with HIV (PLHIV) adhere to the prescribed daily dosing regimens. Studies
have shown that nonadherence to ART increases drug resistance, morbidity and person-to-person
HIV transmission. Public health experts are trying different innovations to enhance ART adhe rence, including promoting support groups of PLHIV. The purpose of this study was to determine
the value of support group participation in enhancing ART adherence. The study used a cross-sec tional design to compare ART adherence among PLHIV who participate in support group activities
and those who do not. Respondents were adults who were initiated on ART between January 1,
2010 and December 31, 2012. Multistage probability sampling was used to select study sites and
respondents. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 1676 respondents
between February and May 2014. Data was analyzed using STATA. Univariate analysis was carried
out to generate descriptive statistics, while Chi-square tests were used to examine if there was an
association between participation in support group activities and antiretroviral treatment adhe rence. ART adherence was self-reported by 745/788 (95%) and 814/888 (92%) respondents who
had ever and had never participated in support group activities respectively. Among respondents
who reported nonadherence to ART, 74/117 (8%) had never participated in support group activi ties compared to just 43/117 (5%) who participated in support group activities. These findings
suggest that PLHIV who participate in support group activities are more likely to adhere to ART than those who do not participate. This implies that there is value in participating in support
groups by PLHIV in terms of ART adherence.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Support Groups, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Participation