The use of functional assessment to facilitate treatment adherence: A case of a child with HIV and pill refusal

Abstract

Inability or refusal to swallow medication is a serious problem for individuals with both chronic and acute illness. This and other forms of medication nonadherence are especially problematic for individuals diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), because medication is necessary to ward off the onset of other illnesses and to prolong life. We present the case of a 7-year-old boy with HIV and pill refusal. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) to illustrate the utility of a functional assessment to facilitate treatment for pill refusal in a boy diagnosed with HIV, and (b) to replicate other studies demonstrating the efficacy of stimulus-fading procedures.