Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2018

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192791

Abstract

AIDS deaths among adolescents are increasing globally. This qualitative study investigated the barriers and facilitators to cART adherence among Peruvian adolescents living with HIV. Guided by a social ecological model, we analyzed transcripts from 24 psychosocial support groups for HIV-positive adolescents aged 13–17 years and 15 individual, in-depth interviews with cART providers and caregivers to identify the barriers and facilitators to cART adherence at the individual, family/caregiver and hospital levels. Most barriers and facilitators to cART adherence clustered at the individual and family/caregiver levels, centering on support provided to adolescents; history of declining health due to suboptimal cART adherence; side effects from antiretroviral drugs; and cART misinformation. Interventions to support adolescent HIV cART adherence should begin at the individual and family/caregiver levels and include an educational component. No adolescent living with HIV should die from AIDS in an era of accessible cART.

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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

PLoS ONE, v. 13, issue 2, art. e0192791

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