Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial to preventing mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and ensuring the long-term effectiveness of ART, yet data are sparse from African routine care programs on maternal adherence to triple ART.Methods
We analyzed data from women who started ART at 13 large health facilities in Malawi between September 2011 and October 2013. We defined adherence as the percentage of days "covered" by pharmacy claims. Adherence of ?90% was deemed adequate. We calculated inverse probability of censoring weights to adjust adherence estimates for informative censoring. We used descriptive statistics, survival analysis, and pooled logistic regression to compare adherence between pregnant and breastfeeding women eligible for ART under Option B+, and nonpregnant and nonbreastfeeding women who started ART with low CD4 cell counts or World Health Organization clinical stage 3/4 disease.Results
Adherence was adequate for 73% of the women during pregnancy, for 66% in the first 3 months post partum, and for about 75% during months 4-21 post partum. About 70% of women who started ART during pregnancy and breastfeeding adhered adequately during the first 2 years of ART, but only about 30% of them had maintained adequate adherence at every visit. Risk factors for inadequate adherence included starting ART with an Option B+ indication, at a younger age, or at a district hospital or health center.Conclusions
One-third of women retained in the Option B+ program adhered inadequately during pregnancy and breastfeeding, especially soon after delivery. Effective interventions to improve adherence among women in this program should be implemented.
SUBMITTER: Haas AD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5064160 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Haas Andreas D AD Msukwa Malango T MT Egger Matthias M Tenthani Lyson L Tweya Hannock H Jahn Andreas A Gadabu Oliver J OJ Tal Kali K Salazar-Vizcaya Luisa L Estill Janne J Spoerri Adrian A Phiri Nozgechi N Chimbwandira Frank F van Oosterhout Joep J JJ Keiser Olivia O
Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 20160726 9
<h4>Background</h4>Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial to preventing mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and ensuring the long-term effectiveness of ART, yet data are sparse from African routine care programs on maternal adherence to triple ART.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed data from women who started ART at 13 large health facilities in Malawi between September 2011 and October 2013. We defined adherence as the percentage of days "covered" by pharma ...[more]