Predictors of Medication Adherence Among HIV/AIDS Clients

Lack of adherence to medication regimens among people living with HIV/AIDS can lead to new drug resistant strains of the virus as well as continuing spread of the disease. Due to suboptimal adherence, the prevalence of these resistant strains continues to increase, posing a serious public health risk. Adherence to the various medications must be 95-100% complete in order to be considered adequate; however, 57% to 77% of patients fail to reach this level of adherence. Treatment of HIV-infected persons with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is often challenging due to the presence of factors that can affect adherence, such as complex regimens, total pill burden, and food dosing restrictions. This study seeks to identify factors that predict medication adherence among HIV positive adults. Independent variables included adherence information, adherence motivation, adherence behavioral skills, demographic factors and environmental factors. Results from the exploratory study using a convenience sample of patients lend support to Fisher's Information-Motivation-Behavior model of HIV prevention. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (C) 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.