Non Compliance and Non Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (Art) at Kitwe Teaching Hospital

Abstract

It is widely recognized that adherence to antiretroviral therapy is critical to long-term treatment success, yet rates of adherence to antiretroviral medications are frequently sub-therapeutic. The objective of this study will be to determine the factors that contribute to the nonadherence and noncompliance to antiretroviral therapy. This study will be important in that it will help identify the different factors that lead to noncompliance and the various ways these factors can be combated so as to reduce the number of people dying from HIV/AIDS related causes and also help achieve the 90-90-90 treatment plan of the WHO. The number of deaths that are recorded due to AIDS affect the country as a whole in that they are an obstacle to social economic development hence all interventions possible must be put in place to reduce the mortality of AIDS which can also be from noncompliance to Highly active anti retro viral therapy. Some of the factors associated with noncompliance to HAART have been found to be behavioural, structural, and psychosocial barriers such as depression and other mental illnesses, neurocognitive impairment, low health literacy, low levels of social support, stressful life events, high levels of alcohol consumption and active substance use, homelessness, poverty, nondisclosure of HIV serostatus to those around them, denial, stigma, and inconsistent access to medications. This proposed study will be a casecontrol study. The methodology that will be used in the study will include using data from the ART clinic at Kitwe Teaching Hospital of the patients that are on HAART.