Factors Affecting Adherence To Anti-Retroviral Therapy Of People Living With Hiv/Aids In a Tertiary Health Facility In South Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic has continued to spread. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is very effective in suppressing HIV replication. Adherence is the strongest patient-enabled predictor of treatment success. This study was carried out to determine the adherence to antiretroviral treatment among people living with HIV/AIDS. This is a descriptive study conducted in Nnamdi Azikiwe University teaching hospital, Nnewi in Anambra state among patients on ARV. All patients aged 19 – 65 years who met the inclusion criteria were recruited. Data was collected with an interviewer administered questionnaire. Adherence was based on patient self-reported drug adherence for the last 3 days prior to the study. A total of 211 respondents were recruited for the study. One hundred and fifty-eight (74.9%) were females 144 (68%) married, 109 (51.7%) had secondary education, 94 (44.5%) partly skilled/unskilled. Of the respondents, 180 (88.7%) reported they had not missed any dose, 10 (4.9%) reported to have missed only one dose, while 3 (1.5%) reported to have missed large number of doses (more than a week) prior to the study. Reasons for missing the drugs included long waiting at the clinic, high transport cost to clinic, increased side effects among others. None of the demographic factors or variables test significantly affected adherence. In conclusion, we observed that adherence was generally good at the study site.