Knowledge and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV Infected Pregnant Women in Enugu State

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of HIV treatment regimen is essential to ensuring treatment adherence.Adherence to treatment is pivotal to a successful antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, to maintain an optimal level of adherence over a long period of time is usually difficult. In Enugu state, there has been no study on knowledge of HIV treatment regimen and level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV infected pregnant women. Objective: To recast the level of knowledge of HIV treatment regimen, level of adherence to ART and the factors affecting adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV infected pregnant women. Methods: The study adopted a survey method and the target population was HIV infected pregnant women on ARV drugs for at least three months prior to the study. Three hundred and ninety-four (394)HIV infected pregnant women who attended the HIV treatment centres under study in Enugu State participated in the study. The sample was selected using simple random sampling technique. Socio-demographic characteristics, patients’ knowledge of HIV treatment regimen, adherence to antiretroviral drugs and factors that influence adherence to ARV drugs were determined with the use of structured questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The inferences on the responses of the study participants were considered significant at P<0.05. Result: A total of 353 (89.6%) of the study population had good knowledge of HIV treatment regimen. Also, the educational level of the HIV infected pregnant women did not affect their knowledge of HIV treatment regimen (P=0.056). The adherence rate among the study population was 76.4%. The relationship between the level of knowledge of HIV treatment regimen and level of adherence to ARV drugs was not statistically significant (P=0.197). The study shows that forgetfulness (35%) represents a strong barrier to adherence among the respondents (P=0.000). Also the availability of support group and understanding the effectiveness of HIV medication represent strong facilitators of adherence to ARV drugs among the study participants (P=0.011 and P=0.003 respectively). Conclusion: There is good knowledge of antiretroviral regimen among HIV infected pregnant women in Enugu State. Their level of adherence to antiretroviral drugs was suboptimal compared with the standard level (≥95%). Forgetfulness was the major factor contributing to non-adherence to ART while availability of support group and understanding the effectiveness of HIV medication were the major motivating factors to adherence to ART among women in the state.