Factors Associated With Adherence To Anti-Retroviral Therapy Among People Living With HIV/AIDS At Wangaya Hospital In Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major public health problem. Recently AIDS was considered as a manageable chronic disease. High adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) is necessary to achieve undetectable viral load, reduce morbidity, mortality and to improve the quality of life. It is also preventing the drug resistance, reducing the transmission and finally leading to live longer and healthier. OBJECTIVES: To assess the factor associated with ART adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) at Wangaya Hospital, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was carried out during January 2015–December 2017 among 202 PLWHA taking ART for at least 6 months. The participants were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics. The data were analyzed using SPSS software for windows version 24.0. Chi-square test was done, the precision value of 95% (p<0.05) was considered statistically to be significant. RESULTS: A total of 202 PLWHA taking ART, 170 (84.16%) were reported with high adherence (≥95%), 32 (15.84%) were low adherence (<95%). Factors found to be independently associated with high adherence to ART were employment status/occupation (p = 0.011), type of ARV (due to adverse effect of ART) (p = 0.002) and family support (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study found that the factor associated with ART adherence among PLWHA who visited Wangaya Hospital, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, was employment status, type of ARV and family support.