Factors related to and consequences of adherence to antiretroviral therapy in an ambulatory HIV-infected patient cohort.
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.
Deloria-Knoll
Maria
M
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Chmiel
Joan S
JS
Moorman
Anne C
AC
Wood
Kathy C
KC
Holmberg
Scott D
SD
Palella
Frank J
FJ
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