Abstract
Determining the barriers and facilitators of antiretroviral adherence among former and current substance users may be useful in the creation of successful interventions that target this hard-to-reach population. We performed a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected patients (N = 123) prescribed antiretroviral therapy at four Chicago healthcare venues. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to determine factors associated with non-adherence based on definitions of non-adherence (any missed doses) within the past 4-day, 14-day, and 1-month time periods. Factors consistently associated with non-adherence in bivariate and multivariate analyses, regardless of duration of non-adherence definition, were lower confidence in taking medication consistently and less self-reported ability to read. These data reveal the importance of self-efficacy and ability to read (rather than specific knowledge of CD4 and viral load definitions) in the design of interventions in a population of HIV-infected persons with significant substance use. Determining the barriers and facilitators of antiretroviral adherence among former and current substance users may be useful in the creation of successful interventions that target this hard-to-reach population. We performed a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected patients (N = 123) prescribed antiretroviral therapy at four Chicago healthcare venues. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to determine factors associated with non-adherence based on definitions of non-adherence (any missed doses) within the past 4-day, 14-day, and 1-month time periods. Factors consistently associated with non-adherence in bivariate and multivariate analyses, regardless of duration of non-adherence definition, were lower confidence in taking medication consistently and less self-reported ability to read. These data reveal the importance of self-efficacy and ability to read (rather than specific knowledge of CD4 and viral load definitions) in the design of interventions in a population of HIV-infected persons with significant substance use.
