AJ Amankwa

D Ofosu

DL Paterson

ENL Browne

G Acquah-Haqan

P Agyei-Baffour

P Bachiller

RH Haubrich

S Weiser

Retrovirology

English

PubMed

Springer - Publisher Connector

POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access
The dose-adherence model: a critical review of
the computation of level of adherence to
antiretroviral drugs
D Ofosu2*, P Agyei-Baffour2, G Acquah-Haqan1, AJ Amankwa1, ENL Browne2
From Frontiers of Retrovirology 2011
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 3-5 October 2011
Objectives
To develop a model for determining the level of dose
adherence of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clients from
the first day of ART to the day of interview and to
determine the dose adherence levels of the ART clients
using the model.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted using pre-tested
standardized questionnaires in exitinterviews in three
ART centres and eleven social support groups to
determine the dose adherence levels of ART clients in
the Eastern Region of Ghana. A dose-adherence model
was developed from three types of dose records; the
observed doses, the expected doses and the missed
doses and the frequency at which clients defaulted
since commencement of ART. This model encapsu-
lated the short-term recall of missed doses and the
long-term default frequency of ART clients to arrive at
the observed / expected adherence level ratio; the
expected doses being the theoretical number of doses
to be taken from the first day of ART to the time of
interview and the observed doses being the difference
between the expected doses and the missed doses.
Results
Standard adherence levels derived from the model based
on literature were 25% [1], 50% [2], 80% [3] and 100%
[4]. However, 83.2% of respondents were 100% adherent
having honoured all their re-fill appointments and never
missed doses since commencement of ART. 14% and
1.7% of the 725 respondents were 80% and 50% adher-
ent respectively whereas the remaining 1.1 % were 25%
adherent. Observed adherence levels were statistically
significant at a p-value of 0.0517. Further analyses on
factors affecting dose adherence were conducted on the
respondent’s knowledge, attitudes and practices, socio-
demographic features, social support received, ARV dis-
pensing consistency and sources of ART information
and there was no significance over the adherence levels.
Contrarily, the mechanisms adopted for adherence sig-
nificantly (p-value = 0.0517) affected the adherence
levels.
Conclusion
The dose-adherence model complements other methods
for deducing client’s level of dose adherence by consid-
ering the long-term default frequency as an addition to
the short-term recall of missed doses or self-report.
Author details
1Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. 2Department of
Community Health, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Published: 3 October 2011
References
1. Bachiller P, Arrando FR, Liceago G, Iribarren JA, Olloquiegui E: Drug
Compliance in Patients Starting Saguinavir. 12th World AIDS Conference
Geneva, Abstract 32392; 1998.
2. Weiser S, Wolfe W, Bangsberg D, Thior I, Gilbert P, Makhema J: Barriers to
antiretroviral adherence for patients living with HIV infection and AIDS
in Botswana. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 2003, 34(3):281-288.
3. Haubrich RH, Little SI, Currier JS, Forthal DN, Kemper CA, Beall GN, et al: The
value of patient-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy in
predicting virologic and immunologic response. California Collaborative
Treatment Group. AIDS 1999, 13(9):1099-1107.
2Department of Community Health, School of Medical Sciences, College of
Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
Kumasi, Ghana
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Ofosu et al. Retrovirology 2011, 8(Suppl 2):P57
http://www.retrovirology.com/content/8/S2/P57
© 2011 Ofosu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
4. Paterson DL, Swindels S, Mohr J: Adherence to Protease Inhibitor Therapy
and Outcomes in Patients with HIV infection. Annals of Internal Medicine
2000, 133:21A.
doi:10.1186/1742-4690-8-S2-P57
Cite this article as: Ofosu et al.: The dose-adherence model: a critical
review of the computation of level of adherence to antiretroviral drugs.
Retrovirology 2011 8(Suppl 2):P57.
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Page 2 of 2


The dose-adherence model: a critical review of the computation of level of adherence to antiretroviral drugs

Crossref

Barriers to antiretroviral adherence for patients living with HIV infection and AIDS in Botswana. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

et al: The value of patient-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy in predicting virologic and immunologic response. California Collaborative Treatment Group. AIDS

Ghana Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Ofosu et al. Retrovirology 2011, 8(Suppl 2):P57 http://www.retrovirology.com/content/8/S2/P57 ©

Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance

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The dose-adherence model: a critical review of the computation of level of adherence to antiretroviral drugs

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