Antiretroviral therapy adherence and appointement keeping among children living with HIV/AIDS at national hospital of pediatrics

Abstract

This study evaluated ART adherence level, appointment keeping and associated factors among HIV/AIDS pediatric patients at National Hospital of Pediatrics (NHP) from May to August, 2011. This study used a cross-sectional design in combination with a qualitative survey and retrospective review of patient's medical reports and record. Results from a survey of 209 care givers show that 78.9% of pediatric patients were found to have ARV adherence within 7 days and 90,9% of them revisited NHP on appointment within 2 months. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis show that the significantly associated factors to ART adherence are treatment regimen, and frequency of getting communication from health care staffs in OPCs. Important recommendations of this study for health care givers/providers are as follows: enhancing counseling on ARV use; paying more attention to first-line regimen pediatric patients; and providing regular assessment, support, and reminder to children about ART adherence to maximize treatment effectiveness.