The relationship of disease severity, health beliefs and medication adherence among HIV patients

Abstract

The objective was to investigate the relationship of disease severity, health beliefs and medication adherence among HIV/AIDS patients. A survey was administered to 72 patients in three different stages of HIV/AIDS (CDC clinical categories A, B, C). Multivariate analyses revealed that there were no significant differences in patients' perceptions of the severity of HIV/AIDS or perceptions of the benefits and barriers for the treatment across three disease stages. However, the most severely ill patients (in stage C) perceived a higher risk of complications if they did not take their medicine as prescribed compared to asymptomatic patients (stage A) (p = 0.01). Also, patients in stages B and C were more adherent to their medications compared to patients in stage A (p = 0.007). Finally, perceived susceptibility-inaction was positively related to medication adherence (p = 0.005) and difficulty in following doctors' instructions was negatively related to patients' medication adherence (p = 0.009). In conclusion, patients' illness experiences are associated with their beliefs about the chances of developing complications if they do not adhere to their medications. Patients who have experienced more complications perceive a stronger relationship between medication non-adherence and AIDS-related complications, and are also more adherent to their medication regimen when compared to patients with no prior complications.

Influence of Treatment Complexity on Adherence and Incidence of Blips in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

“…Similar conclusions can be drawn from the work of Paterson et al (2000), which reports a significantly greater adherence to twice-daily dosing versus 3 times daily. 24 In contrast, regimen complexity was not a significant predictor of adherence in the study of Gao et al (2000). 25 None of the previous studies have used a reliable and valid method to quantify the complexity of HAART in HIV patients.…”

“…24 In contrast, regimen complexity was not a significant predictor of adherence in the study of Gao et al (2000). 25 None of the previous studies have used a reliable and valid method to quantify the complexity of HAART in HIV patients.…”

Non-adherence to medication and doctor–patient relationship: Evidence from a European survey

“…However, lack of information on prescription costs in the ESS does not permit such an analysis here. In addition, individuals in worse state of health were less likely to non-adhere which was not surprising as severity of a condition has been reported to be related to better adherence in condition specific studies [25].…”

A Randomized Trial of a Nursing Intervention for HIV Disease Management Among Persons With Serious Mental Illness

“…Yet, the mentally ill population with HIV is one of the most difficult populations to treat because of cognitive dysfunction and poor adherence (5). Effective treatment of persons with HIV and comorbid mental illness is important from an individual clinical perspective as well as from a public health perspective.…”