A study of Family level Determinants on Adherence to Anti Retro Viral Therapy among Serodiscordant Couples in Karnataka

Introduction: The success of Anti Retro Viral Therapy and prolongation of life of a HIV infected individual depends upon adherence to prescribed regimen of Anti Retro Viral Therapy (ART). A good adherence to ART treatment reduces the chances of HIV transmission, and for a serodiscordant couple, along with other positive prevention measures ART adherence helps them to prevent HIV transmission and maintain serodiscordancy Aims: To study the adherence to ART and its family level determinants Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among serodiscordant couples, who were in serodiscordant relationships and who were on ART. Using a simple random technique, a sample of 277 was selected from 03 study sites of Karnataka namely Mysuru, Haveri and Chitradurga. Pretested structured interview schedule which was translated to local language Kannada was used for data collection. Ethical Approval was taken from Ethical committee of Santosh Medical College & Hospital and Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS), Bengaluru Results: 88.8% (Male = 88.2% & Female = 91.7%) adherence (? 95%) was observed among the studied population. Among the family level determinants, level of education of spouse and socioeconomic status were found to be significantly associated with ART adherence (p<0.01). Positive practices like using condom with regular partners coexists with better adherence levels to ART medication. Conclusions: PLHIVs who are in serodiscordant relationships, who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, have lower educational background in family should be focused in our care and support services in order to achieve better adherence levels in ART medication.