Abstract
The effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) portends a viable remedy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection with some context-specific factors identified to pose barriers to adherence to treatment. Consequently, non-adherence to treatment regimens impacts on desired improved health outcomes of affected individuals and socio-economic status of the nation. This study was thus conducted to elicit specific factors that may be responsible for the poor health outcomes attributed to non-adherence among people living with HIV recorded in the study area. A cross-sectional study was conducted on people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and attending ART clinic at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi from February to August 2016. Adherence was defined as taking 95% of the prescribed doses in the week before the survey. Data collected using a standard interview questionnaire were analyzed on SPSS Version 21. Among the 272 study participants, the magnitude of adherence to ART in the week before interview was found to be 85%. The main reasons for nonadherence were forgetfulness (32%), being away from home (29%), and being busy doing other things (14%). Age and monthly income appeared to influence treatment adherence of clients sampled in the study. The researcher recommends a more inclusive approach to HIV care and treatment for a stronger adherence to treatment and implicates care-givers especially nurses at the center of the drive for higher adherence rates in Nigeria. A qualitative approach to the study is also recommended.
Highlights
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic continues to spread across populations making HIV infection one of the most important public health crises in the world [1]
Successful long-term treatment of HIV requires strict adherence to the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) regimen [4, 5]. This is especially important in countries such as Nigeria where PLHIV make up 10% of the global burden of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2008) and about 1.5 million require treatment [2]
The findings of this study revealed and identified major obstacles peculiar to the study setting that affected clients’ level of adherence to anti-retroviral therapy provided at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital located at Nnewi, Nigeria in order to optimize strategies in the face of achieving the second and third 95 of the global target of UNAIDS 95-95-95 by 2030
Summary
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic continues to spread across populations making HIV infection one of the most important public health crises in the world [1]. About 33.3 million persons were estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS in 2010, of these, 22.5 million (68%) are in sub Saharan Africa and about 3 million alone in Nigeria This makes it the country with the second highest burden of HIV and AIDS in the world after South Africa [1]. Successful long-term treatment of HIV requires strict adherence to the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) regimen [4, 5]. This is especially important in countries such as Nigeria where PLHIV make up 10% of the global burden of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2008) and about 1.5 million require treatment [2]. With the realization of the central role played by adherence in the success of HIV/AIDS treatment, several studies conducted in various parts of the world including reviews have reported non-adherence rates ranging from 50% to 80% in different contexts [6, 10]
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