 |
 |

Barriers to HAART Adherence Among Human Immunodeficiency VirusInfected Adolescents
Debra A. Murphy, PhD;
Moussa Sarr, MD, MPH;
Stephen J. Durako;
Anna-Barbara Moscicki, MD;
Craig M. Wilson, MD;
Larry R. Muenz, PhD;
for the Adolescent Medicine HIV/AIDS Research Network
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003;157:249-255.
Objectives To investigate the barriers to highly active antiretrovial therapy (HAART) adherence among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)infected adolescents and to explore the association of barriers and nonadherence.
Design Structured interviews were conducted to determine the barriers associated with adherence; principal component factor analysis was performed on scores of the 19 barrier variables.
Setting Human immunodeficiency virusinfected adolescents were recruited from 13 US cities into the REACH (Reaching for Excellence in Adolescent Care and Health) Project, the first large-scale disease progression study of HIV-positive adolescents infected through sexual behavior or injection drug use.
Patients Human immunodeficiency virusinfected adolescents in the REACH cohort who were prescribed HAART (N = 114) were included in the analyses.
Main Outcome Measures The main outcome measures were self-report of adherence and barriers to adherence and viral load (HIV-1 RNA level in plasma).
Results Viral load was significantly associated with self-report of adherence to HAART (P = .02). Only 28.3% of adolescents reported taking all of their prescribed antiretroviral medications in the previous month. Factor analysis of the barriers to adherence indicates there are 2 factors accounting for the largest proportion of the variance: (1) medication-related adverse effects (both physical and psychological) and (2) complications in day-to-day routines.
Conclusions Adherence was tied closely with daily routine, which supports the assumption that working closely with adolescents to improve their organizational skills may be necessary to improve adherence. Patient-level intervention, provider-level intervention, and health care system modification may all be necessary to improve HIV-infected adolescents' adherence to HAART.
From the Health Risk Reduction Projects, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Department of Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles (Dr Murphy); Westat, Inc, Rockville, Md (Drs Sarr and Muenz and Mr Durako); Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (Dr Moscicki); and Department of Geographic Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Dr Wilson).
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Predictors of Adherence to Antiretroviral Medications in Children and Adolescents With HIV Infection
Williams et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e1745-e1757.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Adherence to Medication
Osterberg and Blaschke
NEJM 2005;353:487-497.
FULL TEXT
Integrating Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Into Children's Daily Lives: A Qualitative Study
Hammami et al.
Pediatrics 2004;114:e591-e597.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|