KAP of Antiretroviral Therapy among PLHAs Attending Clinics in India

[Guest guest]

Ramchandani SR, Mehta SH, Saple DG, Vaidya SB, Pandey VP, Vadrevu R,

Rajasekaran S, Bhatia V, Chowdhary A, Bollinger RC, Gupta A.

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices of Antiretroviral Therapy among

HIV-Infected Adults Attending Private And Public Clinics in India.

AIDS Patient Care STDS 2007;21:129-42.

India has approximately 5.2 million persons infected with HIV.

Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is being widely introduced in

public clinics, many HIV-infected persons still seek care via the

private sector. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2004 at six

public and private sites to characterize the knowledge, attitudes,

and practices (KAP) of ART among patients with HIV receiving care in

India. Of 1667 persons surveyed, 609 (36%) had heard of ART and 19%

of these persons reported that ART could cure HIV.

Twenty-four percent reported that they were currently taking ART, with 18% of

these patients not actually on ART according to their provider. Major barriers

to taking ART were cost (33%), lack of knowledge of ART (41%), and deferral by

physician (30%). More than half of all public and private patients had not heard

of CD4 (57%) or viral load testing (80%), and even fewer had received these

tests (32% and 11%, respectively).

Private clinic attendees were almost 4 times more likely to be on ART (35%

versus 9%, p < 0.0001), more likely to be male, have a higher education, be

partnered, have a higher income, and have had a CD4 or viral load (p < 0.0001).

Overall, low levels of ART knowledge and access were observed among HIV infected

patients, with access to ART being particularly low among patients attending

public clinics. Ramchandani and colleagues conclude that in order to make

widespread dissemination of ART effective in India, further educational and

programmatic efforts are likely needed to optimize access, treatment awareness,

and compliance among patients with HIV.

Editors' note : Treatment literacy programmes for individuals,

families and communities have been shown to be important elsewhere in

creating demand and supporting adherence but this study suggests that

health care providers need more training in patient education

techniques and that financial barriers need to be examined and

reduced.

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AIDS Patient Care and STDs Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices of

Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV-Infected Adults Attending Private

And Public Clinics in India Feb 2007, Vol. 21, No. 2 : 129 -142