The relationship between perceived family support and adherence to highly active anti-retroviral therapy among people living with human immuno-defficiency virus in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria

Abstract

Due to the discovery of HAART, HIV is now considered a chronic infection. Near-perfect adherence to HAART is required to achieve sufficient viral suppression. Perceived family support is one of the factors that has been reported to be associated with adherence to medication. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between family support and adherence to HAART in order to make relevant recommendations as guided by the outcome. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving 297 HIV positive people on HAART who were attending the HIV Clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Nigeria. Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Questionnaires were administered to obtain data on socio-demographic factors while relevant tools were used to assess family support and drug adherence. The results were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 17. The adherence rate among the participants was 24%. Eighty-five percent of the respondents had high family support. Low family support was significantly associated with low mean CD4 count. There was a weak but positive relationship between family support and adherence to HAART. In conclusion, the study reported a weak positive relationship between family support and adherence to HAART.

Keywords: Family, support, adherence, HIV, Asaba.

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