Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
Glob Public Health. 2019 January 11; Volume 14 (Issue 8); 1112-1124.; DOI:10.1080/17441692.2018.1561921
Burns R, Borges J, Blasco P, Vandenbulcke A, Mukui I, et al.
Glob Public Health. 2019 January 11; Volume 14 (Issue 8); 1112-1124.; DOI:10.1080/17441692.2018.1561921
Increasing numbers of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing failure of first-line antiretroviral therapy and transitioning onto second-line regimens. However, there is a dearth of research on their treatment experiences. We conducted in-depth interviews with 43 PLHIV on second- or third-line antiretroviral therapy and 15 HIV health workers in Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique to explore patients' and health workers' perspectives on these transitions. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data were coded inductively and analysed thematically. In all settings, experiences of treatment failure and associated episodes of ill-health disrupted daily social and economic activities, and recalled earlier fears of dying from HIV. Transitioning onto more effective regimens often represented a second (or third) chance to (re-)engage with HIV care, with patients prioritising their health over other aspects of their lives. However, many patients struggled to maintain these transformations, particularly when faced with persistent social challenges to pill-taking, alongside the burden of more complex regimens and an inability to mobilise sufficient resources to accommodate change. Efforts to identify treatment failure and support regimen change must account for these patients' unique illness and treatment histories, and interventions should incorporate tailored counselling and social and economic support.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Int AIDS Soc. 2020 March 2; Volume 23 (Issue 3); e25459.; DOI:10.1002/jia2.25459
Burns R, Magalasi D, Blasco P, Szumilin E, Pasquier E, et al.
J Int AIDS Soc. 2020 March 2; Volume 23 (Issue 3); e25459.; DOI:10.1002/jia2.25459
INTRODUCTION
Many adolescents living with HIV in sub‐Saharan Africa struggle to achieve optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), but few studies have investigated how their treatment‐taking decisions are influenced by their social interactions with providers, caregivers and community leaders. This study aims to explore the narratives that define expectations of adherence to ART among adolescents living with HIV in a rural Malawian setting.
METHODS
Overall, 45 in‐depth interviews were conducted in 2016 with adolescents living with HIV, caregivers, health workers and community leaders, and four group sessions using participatory tools were undertaken with adolescents. Interviews and group sessions were audio‐recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data were coded inductively and analysed thematically.
RESULTS
Adolescents were given strict behavioural codes around optimal treatment adherence, which were often enforced through encouragement, persuasian and threats. In HIV clinics, some staff supported adolescents with broader concerns relating to living with HIV, but other measures to address sub‐optimal adherence in HIV clinics were perceived by patients as punitive, including pill‐counts and increased frequency of clinic visits. Community leaders felt responsible for young peoples' health, sometimes attempting to influence their treatment‐taking by threatening to withdraw services, or to publically “out” those deemed to be non‐adherent. At home, discussions with adolescents about HIV were often limited to dose reminders, and some caretakers resorted to physical punishment to ensure adherence. While some adolescents complied with strictly‐enforced adherence rules, others demonstrated resistance by hiding missed doses, secretly throwing away drugs, or openly refusing to take them.
CONCLUSIONS
The potential of young people to adhere to their ART may be undermined by restrictive messages and punitive approaches to enforce and control their engagement with treatment at home, in the clinic and in the wider community. Interventions should focus on creating safe spaces for adolescents to speak frankly about the adherence challenges that they face and support for caregivers including home‐based interventions.
Many adolescents living with HIV in sub‐Saharan Africa struggle to achieve optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), but few studies have investigated how their treatment‐taking decisions are influenced by their social interactions with providers, caregivers and community leaders. This study aims to explore the narratives that define expectations of adherence to ART among adolescents living with HIV in a rural Malawian setting.
METHODS
Overall, 45 in‐depth interviews were conducted in 2016 with adolescents living with HIV, caregivers, health workers and community leaders, and four group sessions using participatory tools were undertaken with adolescents. Interviews and group sessions were audio‐recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data were coded inductively and analysed thematically.
RESULTS
Adolescents were given strict behavioural codes around optimal treatment adherence, which were often enforced through encouragement, persuasian and threats. In HIV clinics, some staff supported adolescents with broader concerns relating to living with HIV, but other measures to address sub‐optimal adherence in HIV clinics were perceived by patients as punitive, including pill‐counts and increased frequency of clinic visits. Community leaders felt responsible for young peoples' health, sometimes attempting to influence their treatment‐taking by threatening to withdraw services, or to publically “out” those deemed to be non‐adherent. At home, discussions with adolescents about HIV were often limited to dose reminders, and some caretakers resorted to physical punishment to ensure adherence. While some adolescents complied with strictly‐enforced adherence rules, others demonstrated resistance by hiding missed doses, secretly throwing away drugs, or openly refusing to take them.
CONCLUSIONS
The potential of young people to adhere to their ART may be undermined by restrictive messages and punitive approaches to enforce and control their engagement with treatment at home, in the clinic and in the wider community. Interventions should focus on creating safe spaces for adolescents to speak frankly about the adherence challenges that they face and support for caregivers including home‐based interventions.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
AIDS Care. 2021 August 26; Volume 34 (Issue 9); 1179-1186.; DOI:10.1080/09540121.2021.1966697
Burns R, Venables E, Odhoch L, Kocholla L, Wanjala S, et al.
AIDS Care. 2021 August 26; Volume 34 (Issue 9); 1179-1186.; DOI:10.1080/09540121.2021.1966697
Advanced HIV causes substantial mortality in sub-Saharan Africa despite widespread antiretroviral therapy coverage. This paper explores pathways of care amongst hospitalised patients with advanced HIV in rural Kenya and urban Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a view to understanding their care-seeking trajectories and poor health outcomes. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with hospitalised patients with advanced HIV who had previously initiated first-line antiretroviral therapy, covering their experiences of living with HIV and care-seeking. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated before being coded inductively and analysed thematically. In both settings, participants' health journeys were defined by recurrent, severe symptoms and complex pathways of care before hospitalisation. Patients were often hospitalised after multiple failed attempts to obtain adequate care at health centres. Most participants managed their ill-health with limited support networks, lived in fragile economic situations and often experienced stress and other mental health concerns. Treatment-taking was sometimes undermined by strict messaging around adherence that was delivered in health facilities. These findings reveal a group of patients who had "slipped through the cracks" of health systems and social support structures, indicating both missed opportunities for timely management of advanced HIV and the need for interventions beyond hospital and clinical settings.