Predictors of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among People Living with HIV in Northern Egypt

• Published in: Annals of global health Vol. 90; no. 1; p. 58
• Main Authors: Magdy, Mona, Zaki, Adel, Osman, Sherif Omar, Abd El-Wahab, Ekram W., Abd Elhameed, Asmaa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Ubiquity Press 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; adherence; Adolescent; Adult; AIDS; Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; barriers; Chronic illnesses; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Drug resistance; Drug therapy; Egypt; Female; Fever; HIV; HIV Infections - drug therapy; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Imprisonment; Logistic Models; Low income groups; Male; Medication Adherence - statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; Multivariate analysis; Patient Satisfaction; Patients; Pharmacy; Pilot projects; predictors; Public health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; risk factors; Sex Factors; Sex ratio; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Stigma; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; viral suppression; Young Adult; Egypt; predictors; viral suppression; risk factors; barriers; adherence; Antiretroviral therapy
• ISSN: 2214-9996; 2214-9996
• DOI: 10.5334/aogh.4491

Adherence to medications is a crucial factor in achieving the best therapeutic outcomes for patients who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Little is known about the rate and predictors of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Egypt. To assess the degree of adherence to ART among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Egypt and to explore the predictors of non-adherence. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to December 2021 on 785 PLWHA attending an ART clinic at the main fever hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. Data collection was done using an interviewing questionnaire and pharmacy database records. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to identify the predictors of adherence to ART. The overall adherence rate to ART among the study subjects was 66.7%. Female sex (Adjusted Odds Ratio [95% CI]: 1.73 [1.01-2.96]), intravenous drug use (AOR [95% CI]: 2.87 [1.27-6.49]), fair satisfaction with the health service at ART clinics (OR [95% CI]: 1.86 [1.27-2.73]) appeared as independent predictors of poor adherence. The degree of adherence to ART among PLWHA in Egypt is noticeably high, although it was influenced by several patient-, healthcare-, and community-related factors. This work provides an accurate, standardized tool to measure adherence and identify factors that contribute to non-adherence.