AN ASSESSMENT OF MEDICATION ADHERENCE AND RISK PERCEPTION AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Background:Young People living with HIV (YPLHIV) enrolled in HIV treatment experience a higher rate of interruption in treatment, sub-optimal medication adherence, and greater HIV-related mortality compared with younger children or adults.This study assessed the relationship between risk perception and medication adherence among Young people aged 18 to 24 years living with HIV in Niger State, Nigeria

Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2022 utilizing a pretested 43-item questionnaire (Cronbachs alpha of 0.7654) among 208 randomly selected Young People Living with HIV (YPLHIV) from four facilities in Niger State, Nigeria. The data was analyzed using STATA 15.0 with significance level set at p<0.05.

Results:Results indicated that 161 (77.4 %) females and 47(22.6%) males with mean age 21.47 ± 1.92 years participated in the study.Perception of risk of complications from poor treatment measured on a 36-point scale recorded a mean score of 15.21 ± 13.77 and medication adherence measured on a 27-point scale similarly recorded a mean score of 14.72 ± 8.59 representing, representing 54.5% adherence rate for the participants in the study.There was no significant difference in measures of adherence to treatment and perception of risk of poor treatment recorded between males and females.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the medication adherence rate among YPLHIV in this study was sub-optimal and require stimulation through appropriate health promotion intervention to improve ART treatment outcomes.