Advances in antiretroviral therapy for both Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment and prevention have increased interest in adherence to HIV treatment. This is because the individual patient and public health benefits of antiretroviral treatment (ART) greatly depend on the extent to which people living with HIV (PLHIV) adhere to the prescribed daily dosing regimens. Studies have shown that nonadherence to ART increases drug resistance, morbidity and person-to-person HIV transmission. Public health experts are trying different innovations to enhance ART adherence, including promoting support groups of PLHIV. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of support group participation in enhancing ART adherence. The study used a cross-sectional design to compare ART adherence among PLHIV who participate in support group activities and those who do not. Respondents were adults who were initiated on ART between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012. Multistage probability sampling was used to select study sites and respondents. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 1676 respondents between February and May 2014. Data was analyzed using STATA. Univariate analysis was carried out to generate descriptive statistics, while Chi-square tests were used to examine if there was an association between participation in support group activities and antiretroviral treatment adherence. ART adherence was self-reported by 745/788 (95%) and 814/888 (92%) respondents who had ever and had never participated in support group activities respectively. Among respondents who reported nonadherence to ART, 74/117 (8%) had never participated in support group activities compared to just 43/117 (5%) who participated in support group activities. These findings suggest that PLHIV who participate in support group activities are more likely to adhere to ART * Corresponding author. S. Tumwikirize et al. 190than those who do not participate. This implies that there is value in participating in support groups by PLHIV in terms of ART adherence.
The role of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV prevention has generated hope for an AIDS-free generation but also interest in behavioural outcomes of people living with HIV (PLHIV). This is from the knowledge that the benefits of ART in terms of enhancing PLHIV health outcomes and preventing HIV transmission depend on PLHIV's behaviours including sexual risk, disclosure, treatment adherence and retention. The purpose of this study was to examine whether PLHIV in Nigeria who participate in support group activities have different behavioural outcomes than those who do not.A cross-sectional design was used to compare stigma, disclosure, sexual risk behaviors and ART adherence rates of PLHIV who participate in support group activities and those who do not. Respondents were adult PLHIV enrolled in ART from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012. Study sites and respondents were selected using multistage probability sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 1,676 respondents between February and May 2014. Data were analysed using STATA. Univariate analysis was carried out to generate descriptive statistics while Chi-square tests were used to examine if there was any association between participation in support group activities and PLHIV selected behavioral outcomes.PLHIV who participated in support group activities differed from those who did not in terms of HIV-related stigma (p =< 0.001), positive HIV status disclosure (p = 0.005), ART adherence (p = 0.021), and sexual risk behaviors (p = 0.045). PLHIV who participated in support group activities were more likely to have less internal HIV-related stigma, disclose their positive HIV status, adhere to ART and live less risky sexual lives. These findings suggest that PLHIV who participate in support group activities are more likely to adopt positive behaviors than those who do not.
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