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Does Type of Social Support Influence Medication Adherence Among South African Adolescents Living With HIV? A
Vincenzo F Malo1, Tiarney D Ritchwood, Michael V Relf
1Vincenzo F. Malo, MSc, is a Public Health Analyst III at RTI International, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Tiarney D. Ritchwood, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Michael V. Relf, PhD, RN, AACRN, ACNS-BC, ANEF, FAAN, is the Associate Dean for Global and Community Health Affairs, Duke University School of Nursing and Associate Research Professor, Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Linda-Gail Bekker, MBChB, DTMH, DCH, FCP (SA), PhD, is Deputy Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa, and is Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa.
Abstract:
Adolescents living with HIV often experience worse medication adherence than older and younger individuals living with HIV. One factor that may mitigate poor adherence is social support. However, few studies have examined the influence of specific social support constructs on HIV outcomes like medication adherence. In response to this gap, we performed bivariate analyses using data from 104 adolescents living with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa to understand the relationship between three types of social support (emotional, informational, and instrumental support) and four HIV-related outcomes: adherence self-efficacy, last recorded CD4+ count, last recorded viral load, and adherence to clinic appointments in the past year. We found small positive associations between two social support types (emotional and informational support) and adherence self-efficacy, with no other statistically significant associations. In light of our small sample size, future studies should seek to understand the differential effects of specific types of social support on HIV-related outcomes to better inform interventions for adolescents living with HIV.
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