HIV-infected patients’ beliefs about their chronic co-treatments in comparison with their combined antiretroviral therapy. HIV Medicine
Kamal et al. tested the hypothesis that patients’ perceptions of and attitudes towards their combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), which is perceived as crucial to their survival, differ from their beliefs about their co-treatments, and this may have an impact on their medication adherence. Beliefs about cART were assessed using the validated French version of the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (BMQ-HAART). For co-medications, the French version of the generic Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire (BMQ-f) was used.
Out of 150 administered questionnaires, 109 patients returned their questionnaires (72.6%). Most participants were male (74%) and the median age was 56 years. Eighty-seven percent of patients reported being adherent to cART and 75% of them reported being adherent to their co-treatment (P=0.0001). Respondents had higher Necessity and lower Concerns scores for their cART in comparison with their co-treatments. Women had higher cART Necessity scores than men. Respondents with an education level less than a bachelor’s degree had higher Necessity scores for their co-treatments than those with an education level higher than a bachelor’s degree. Respondents also had higher Necessity scores for their co-treatments the higher their CD4 count was.
In conclusion, patients had higher Necessity and lower Concerns scores for their cART in comparison with their co-treatments. Patients also had a higher adherence to cART in comparison to the co-treatments they reported as being most likely to miss. The study-results suggests that it could be important to focus on patient beliefs to improve adherence to co-treatments.