Relationship between social factors and treatment adherence: a study from south India

This study tries to assess the association of social factors and treatment adherence of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in a south Indian ART clinic. Methods: 350 patients who completed at least one year of ART were included in the study. The data was collected using an interview schedule containing questions on personal, social and treatment factors of PLHIV. The results show that majority of PLHIV attending this clinic (84%) had good adherence. Factors such as older age (?40), female sex, absence of alcoholism, good family bonding, personal ability to follow treatment needs, having hope in life, absence of past history of psychiatric illness, presence of a care giver, having trust and faith in the care giver, having anxiety regarding the future of their family, good understanding of HIV disease and nuclear family were found to be associated with good adherence by univariate analysis and the first seven were associated with good adherence by multivariate analysis. This study highlights the importance of social factors which influence ART adherence in an Indian context. We suggest further studies of this kind to examine whether our findings can be generalized and be used in the national programme.