Assessment of Level of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among Human Immune Deficiency Virus/acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Patients at Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/njgp.v13i1.144Keywords:
Imo State University Teaching Hospital, human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome, assessment, antiretroviral therapy, AdherenceAbstract
Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not a cure for human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), but rather it is used for optimal suppression of the viral load to an undetectable serum level, hence it remains a palliative measure to improve the quality of life and longevity by impeding the rate of disease progression.
Objective: The objective was to evaluate the level of adherence, the prevailing contributory factors to adherence as well as nonadherence of HIV/AIDS patients to ART at Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), Orlu, Nigeria. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study of HIV/AIDS patients receiving anti-retroviral drugs at IMSUTH, Orlu. It was carried out using interviewer – administered questionnaire involving 400 respondents. The collected data was analyzed manually using electronic calculator and results were presented in frequency tables.
Results: The result showed a high level of adherence of HIV/AIDS patients to anti-retroviral drugs as 383 (96.2%) were adherent, while 15 (3.8%) were not adherent. Some reasons given for nonadherence to treatment were self-discouragement, toxicity of the drugs especially skin rashes, attitude of health workers, stigma, and distance to the hospital hence they may not be able to access their medications as and at when due.
Conclusion: There is a significant high level of adherence of HIV/AIDS patients to ART at IMSUTH, Orlu, probably due to their high level of formal education as majority of the respondents 333 (83.0%) achieved at least a secondary level of education.
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