title: Factors related to and consequences of adherence to antiretroviral therapy in an ambulatory HIV-infected patient cohort.
abstract: In a confidential medication adherence questionnaire completed by 255 participants in the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) between March and November 1999, 33% reported skipping antiretroviral doses within the previous 3 days. The respondents, with a median age of 41, were predominantly male (86%), white (62%), and highly educated (33% had some post-high school training but no college degree and 39% had a college degree; only 11% had less than a high school diploma). Twenty-one percent had a history of injection drug use, 12% were unemployed, and 18% had Medicaid insurance. Questions about difficulty taking antiretroviral medications or drug holidays identified an additional 16% of patients experiencing adherence problems and explained significantly more of the failure to achieve undetectable viral loads than simply querying about skipped doses.
authors.affiliation: Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deloria-Knoll
authors.forename: Joan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chmiel
authors.forename: Anne C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Moorman
authors.forename: Kathy C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Holmberg
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Palella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires