Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and determinants of medication adherence among patients with HIV/AIDS in southern Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital in southern Vietnam from June to December 2019 on patients who began antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months. Using a designed questionnaire, patients were considered adherent if they took correct medicines with right doses, on time and properly with food and beverage and had follow-up visits as scheduled. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify determinants of adherence. Key findings: A total of 350 patients (from 861 medical records) were eligible for the study. The majority of patients were male (62.9%), and the dominant age group (≥35 years old) accounted for 53.7% of patients. Sexual intercourse was the primary route of transmission of HIV (95.1%). The proportions of participants who took the correct medicine and at a proper dose were 98.3% and 86.3%, respectively. In total, 94.9% of participants took medicine appropriately in combination with food and beverage, and 75.7% of participants were strictly adherent to ART. The factors marital status (odds ratio (OR) = 2.54; 95%CI = 1.51–4.28), being away from home (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.03–2.78), substance abuse (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.44–5.05), general knowledge about ART (OR = 2.75; 95%CI = 1.67–4.53), stopping medication after improvement (OR = 4.16; 95%CI = 2.29–7.56) and self-assessment of therapy adherence (OR = 9.83; 95%CI = 5.44–17.77) were significantly associated with patients’ adherence. Conclusions: Three-quarters of patients were adherent to ART. Researchers should consider these determinants of adherence in developing interventions in further studies.
Highlights
The global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is one of the major worldwide health issues
Patients who were 18 years of age or older were included in the study if they had undergone (ART) for at least 6 months
The factors marital status, being away from home, substance abuse, general knowledge about antiretroviral therapy (ART), stopping medication after improvement and self-assessment of therapy adherence were significantly associated with adherence in patients with HIV
Summary
The global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is one of the major worldwide health issues. Thanks to a myriad of efforts, the pandemic has been alleviated; there were 690,000 acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths at the end of 2019, down from a peak of 2.2 million in the mid-2000s [1,2]. The estimated 1.7 million HIV patients worldwide in 2019 marked a 23% decline in new infections since 2010 [2]. In Vietnam, new HIV infections significantly reduced from 16,000 cases in 2010 to 5200 cases in 2019 [2]. The decrease of 67.5% in new infections and 40% in AIDS-related deaths over a 10-year period speaks to the effectiveness of the nationwide testing and treatment program. The 2019 HIV/AIDS prevention and control report highlighted that nearly 95% had an HIV load below the detection threshold (
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