Facilitators and barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence among adolescents in Ghana

Daniel NA Ankrah,1,2 Ellen S Koster,2 Aukje K Mantel-Teeuwisse,2 Daniel K Arhinful,3 Irene A Agyepong,4 Margaret Lartey5,6 1Pharmacy Department, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; 2Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht, the Netherlands; 3Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana (Legon), 4Health Policy, Planning and Management, University of Ghana School of Public Health, 5Department of Medicine, University of Ghana Medical School, 6Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana Introduction: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is known to be challenging among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS, notwithstanding the life-saving importance of this therapy. Of the global total number of adolescents living with HIV in 2013, 83% reside in sub-Saharan Africa. The study aimed to identify facilitators of and barriers to antiretroviral treatment adherence among adolescents in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study using semi-structured interviews for data collection was carried out among adolescents (aged 12–19 years) at the adolescents HIV clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Predominantly open-ended questions relating to ART were used. Interviews were done until saturation. In total, 19 interviews were conducted. Analysis was done manually to maintain proximity with the text. Findings: The main facilitators were support from health care providers, parental support, patient’s knowledge of disease and self-motivation, patient’s perceived positive outcomes, and dispensed formulation. The identified barriers were patient’s forgetfulness to take medicines, perceived stigmatization due to disclosure, financial barriers, and adverse effects of ART. Support from health care workers was the most frequently mentioned facilitator, and patient’s forgetfulness and perceived stigmatization after disclosure were the most frequently mentioned barriers. Self-motivation (knowledge induced) to adhere to treatment was a specific facilitator among older adolescents. Conclusion: Continuous information provision in addition to unflinching support from health care workers and parents or guardians may improve adherence among adolescents. Also, interventions to reduce patient forgetfulness may be beneficial. A multi-sectorial approach would be needed to address adolescent disclosure of HIV/AIDS status. Keywords: qualitative study, forgetfulness, disclosure, parental support, stigmatizatio

Management of mutual health organizations in Ghana.

Contains fulltext : 50627.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVE: Mutual Health Organizations (MHO) emerged in Ghana in the mid-1990s. The organizational structure and financial management of private and public MHO hold important lessons for the development of national health insurance in Ghana, but there is little evidence to date on their features. This paper aims at filling this data gap, and at making recommendations to Ghanaian authorities on how to stimulate the success of MHO. METHODS: Survey among 45 private and public MHO in Ghana in 2004-2005, asking questions on their structure, financial management and financial position. RESULTS: Private MHO had more autonomy in setting premiums and benefit packages, and had higher community participation in meetings than public MHO. MHO in general had few measures in place to control moral hazard and reduce adverse selection, but more measures to control fraud and prevent cost escalation. The vast majority of schemes were managed by formally trained and paid staff. The financial results varied considerably. CONCLUSIONS: Ghanaian authorities regulate the newly established public MHO, but may do good by leaving them a certain level of autonomy in decision-making and secure community participation. The financial management of MHO is suboptimal, which indicates the need for technical assistance