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Adherence

What does adherence mean? Adherence means to stick or comply with a prescribed medication the way it was prescribed by your doctor. This includes strictly following the timing of doses. Example: If your doctor prescribes a medication every 12 hours, you need to follow a schedule every 12 hours like taking medications at 7am and 7pm.

Why is adherence to my HIV medications important?Adherence to HIV medications is important because depending on your level of adherence your medication's efficacy will last longer. If you take your medications erratically, the virus that you are carrying will develop resistance or, in other terms, will lose the ability to control the virus and you will loose viable options of care.

What level of adherence is best? Persons living with HIV/AIDS who are prescribed medications are expected to be adherent over 95% of their prescribed doses. The lower your adherence level, the higher your risk is of developing resistance to the medications you are taking.

What are barriers to adherence? Barriers to adherence are a number of situations that prevent a person to be adherent to the HIV medications and to medical care.There are multiple known barriers that may impair a person's capacity to be adherent to HIV medications. These are some examples: poverty, homelessness, active alcohol and substance use, educational level, medications, side effects, pill number, etc.