Facilitators And Barriers To Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Hiv/Aids Patients: A Multi-Case Study Of Sunyani Regional And Municipal Hospitals

ABSTRACT HIV and AIDS was discovered as far back as 1981, however a cure for it is yet to be found. The only remedy to treat the disease is Adherence to Antiretroviral therapy. Over the years, non-adherence to ART has become an important issue in HIV and AIDS treatment. In this regard, the study sort to assess facilitators and barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence among HIV and AIDS clients seeking care at Sunyani Regional and Municipal Hospitals. The key purpose guiding the study was to find out the influence of individual, social, and service factors on adherence to ART. To achieve the objectives, a multi-case study design which allowed for inter facility comparison and a mixed method approach was used to collect data. Purposive sampling was use to select 141 respondents. With the quantitative approach, questionnaire were administered to 120 respondents. For qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted for 5 health professionals while 16 others were selected for focus group discussions. Chi square analysis was utilized to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed thematically. All respondents had 100% adherence in three days assessment, but 25% did not take medication fully in the seven day‟s assessment. The main facilitators of adherence to ART comprised: existence of support; health promotion activities; free supply of ARVs; and cordial relationship with health professionals. Adherence barriers were: transportation cost; cost of non-ARVs; delay in service delivery; and different schedules for drugs and consultation. Since all the barriers are facility based, it is recommended that services such as drug delivery systems be improved to ensure satisfactory care.