Antiretroviral therapy adherence among people living with HIV accessing services at a primary health care facility in Livingstone, Zambia, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly enhanced the quality of life for individuals living with HIV on a global scale. In order to effectively manage HIV, optimal adherence to ART is of utmost importance, particularly with the enhanced accessibility to treatment. Inadequate adherence to ART has the potential to foster drug resistance, consequently leading to escalated costs for both individuals and national ART programmes, as patients necessitate a switch to more costly second- and third-line antiretroviral (ARV) regimens. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and the subsequent implementation of national restrictions in Zambia disrupted the provision of HIV services, thereby exacerbating the challenge of adhering to ART for individuals living with HIV. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was undertaken to ascertain the factors associated with adherence to ART among patients receiving care at a primary health care facility in Livingstone, Zambia. Data routinely collected from all patients on ART at this primary care health facility in Livingstone District, spanning from February 2020 to August 2022, were extracted from the electronic medical records. These data were then subjected to bivariate and multivariate regression analyses employing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.