Risk factors for non-compliance to treatment with highly effective antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

The purpose of the study was: to measure the prevalence of non-compliance to highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART) by AIDS patients; to identify whether some of the factors listed in health literature were associated with non-compliance; to establish the predictive values of non-compliance to HAART-related factors. An analytic prevalence study (N=60) was performed, in which the three days prior to the interview were considered. Those classified as compliant were the patients who ingested 95% or over of the total amount of pills prescribed a day. Compliance appeared as 73.3%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the black subjects presented 6.48 times higher risk for non-compliance. Those who did not present side effects showed 7.6 times higher risk, and a risk of 1.12 for each pill taken. The compliance observed in the study proved to be higher than in literature. The sociodemographic and cultural factors may interfere in the compliance with HAART.