title: Intimate partner violence and antiretroviral adherence among women receiving care in an urban Southeastern Texas HIV clinic.
abstract: This nonexperimental, descriptive study examined relationships between recent intimate partner violence (IPV) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among women. Data from 272 HIV-infected women receiving care at a large HIV clinic were obtained through interviews and medical record abstraction. The Severity of Violence Against Women Scale was used to determine IPV experience in the previous 12 months; the prevalence of recent IPV in our sample was 52%. Mean Domestic Violence Specific Morisky Medication Adherence Scale scores among women experiencing recent IPV were significantly lower (M = 5.49, SD = 2.06) than in women without IPV experiences (M = 6.57, SD = 1.57, t[262.1] = 4.91, p < .001). A greater proportion of detectable viral loads (Fisher's exact p < .001) was found in women experiencing recent IPV compared to women who did not experience IPV. The data indicate that clinicians should screen HIV-infected women frequently for IPV when assessing ART adherence.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine/Infectious Diseases and Pediatrics/Retrovirology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Debra D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Trimble
authors.forename: Angeles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nava
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McFarlane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013781:Texas; D019562:Viral Load