Determinants of Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment Among HIV-Infected Patients at the Departmental Teaching Hospital of Oueme-Plateau.

Abstract

Objective: To determine factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral treatment among people living with HIV (PLHIV) coming to the Departmental Teaching Hospital of Oueme-Plateau (CHUD-OP). Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted from 01 July to 01 October, 2017. The study population was HIV-infected persons under antiretroviral treatment and followed in the internal medicine department of CHUDOP. The Center for Adherence Support Evaluation (CASE) questionnaire, commonly known as the CASE Adherence Index, was used to assess adherence. Results: A total of 266 patients were included in this study. The mean, minimum, and maximum age of the patients were, respectively, 39.6 (± 10.3), 19, and 69 with a predominance of the 30 to 50 year-old age group (63.5%). The study population was predominantly female (203 or 76.3%), with a sex ratio of 0.31. Among the 266 respondents, 186 (69.9%) had a good adherence score (>10) to the ARV treatment against 80 (30.1%) who had a poor adherence score. Factors associated with adherence to ART were: absence of adverse events (p=0.001); initial clinical stage (p=0.031); high level of education (p=0.026); sharing of HIV status with family (p=0.034) and spouse (p<0.001); circumstances of HIV discovery (p=0.003); number of tablets per day ≤ 3 (p=0.001). Adherence to ART was also associated with CD4 count ≥ 500 cells/mm3 (p<0.001) and viral load at the time of the survey, undetectable (p < 0.001) testifying to the benefit of this treatment adherence. Conclusion: It is advisable to insist on reinforcing therapeutic education and psychosocial care for patients on ARV treatment.