Treatment adherence in patients living with HIV/AIDS assisted at a specialized facility in Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 2017-09, Vol.50 (5), p.607-612
• Main Authors: Miyada, Simone, Garbin, Artênio José Ísper, Gatto, Renata Colturato Joaquim, Garbin, Cléa Adas Saliba
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - drug therapy; Adhesion; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - prevention & control; Ambulatory care; Ambulatory Care Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active - statistics & numerical data; Brazil; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug therapy; Emergency medical services; Female; HIV; HIV Seropositivity; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Laboratories; Male; Medical records; Medication adherence; Medication Adherence - statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; National Health Programs; Opportunist infection; Patient compliance; Patients; Public health; Public Policy; Self Report; Sex Factors; Sexually transmitted diseases; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; STD; Therapy; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Unified Health System; Viruses; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849
• DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0266-2017

In the 1990s, Brazil adopted a public policy that allowed for universal, free access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Since then, treatment adherence has become a new challenge for administrators of sexually transmitted disease/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (STD/AIDS) policies. This study quantified adherence to ART and verified whether there is an association between sociodemographic variables and clinical/laboratory data in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. This was a cross-sectional, exploratory study with a quantitative approach that was conducted over 8 months. The target population contained patients who were assisted at the ambulatory care facility specialized in STD/AIDS of a medium-size city located in Northwest São Paulo. In order to verify the level of adherence to ART, a validated CEAT-VIH (Assessment of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Questionnaire) questionnaire was used. Sociodemographic aspects and clinical/laboratory data were obtained from the medical records. The results were analyzed using the Student's t-test and Pearson's coefficient. Herein, 109 patients were interviewed, 56% of whom were male. The age of the population ranged 18-74 years (mean 45.67 years). Adherence to ART was classified as insufficient in 80.7% of cases. There was an association between ART adherence and presence of symptoms and/or opportunistic infection (p=0.008) and economic status (p