The effect of Food Assistance on Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV/AIDS Patients in Sofala Province, in Mozambique: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: The availability of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) has changed the course of HIV/AIDS, by transforming it into a chronic condition. However, important challenges remain in the management of HIV/AIDS. These challenges are exacerbated by the fact that in resource limited settings, food insecurity and HIV/AIDS overlap. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of a food assistance program on adherence to ART in Sofala province, Mozambique. Methods: In order to assess the effect of the food assistance program on adherence we used propensity score matching with difference in differences estimation. We compared food assistance recipients with controls. We measured adherence based on pill pick-up, a pharmacy adherence measure. Results: During the food assistance programme, the adherence of food assistance recipients who received food assistance for a period of six and 12 months and non-food assistance recipients is not significantly different as the average impact is only 0.4% (p=0.94) and -2.3% (p=0.73) respectively. For the period after food assistance had been terminated, adherence is still not significantly different between the two groups, as the average impact is 5.3% (p=0.44) and 1.9% (p=0.65). Conclusion: Our study suggests that food assistance provided to HIV/AIDS patients in Sofala province in Mozambique had no effect on their adherence to ART. Our results indicate that although efforts have been put forth to reduce food insecurity among HIV/AIDS patients, more should be done to ensure that these efforts really result in the improvement of adherence to ART.