Anti-Retroviral Therapy Adherence at a Rural Hospital in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: The harmful use of alcohol is a significant factor responsible for non-adherence to AntiRetroviral Therapy (ART) among HIV infected patients but there is paucity of data on the effect of both local and commercially brewed alcohol on ART adherence in low and middle income countries. This study sought to determine the prevalence of harmful alcohol use and its association with ART adherence among HIV infected patients in a rural setting in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among HIV sero-positive adults receiving anti-retroviral therapy medication at Vom Christian Hospital between February and July 2018. A structured  interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain relevant data from 297 randomly selected persons. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test tool was used to determine the level of alcohol consumption while Self-Reported Adherence tool was used to measure drug adherence. Data was analysed using IBM Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) Statistics version 25. Probability values of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  

Results: The prevalence of harmful use of alcohol was more than half (56.0%) of those that drank alcohol at the time of the study and 14.3% of the overall study population. Bivariate analysis did not show any significant relationship between the harmful use of alcohol with ART adherence. Binary logistic regression showed those who take more than a pill/day were less likely to adhere to ART compared to those who take one. (OR 0.15 95% CI = 0.03-0.91)

Conclusion: The prevalence of harmful Alcohol use was high but the harmful use of alcohol had no effect on ART adherence in the study population.