Coming 2013 - Antiretroviral Therapy as HIV Prevention: New! HIV Medication Adherence Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes and Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection.
Growing evidence indicates that a consistently suppressed viral load reduces infectiousness and lowers the risk of transmission to others, promoting antiretroviral therapy (ART) as an essential weapon in the fight against HIV. In April 2011, eight individual and group-level evidence-based interventions to support HIV medication adherence were reviewed and identified as “good-evidence” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Synthesis Project. Five of the eight medication adherence interventions were selected to be translated into e-learning trainings for clinical and non-clinical HIV providers who serve persons living with HIV (PLWH). The adherence strategies listed below in (Table 1) showed efficacy in improving either medication adherence and/or viral load among ART naïve and ART experienced patients.
View Table 1. Brief description of the 5 evidence-based HIV medication adherence strategies selected for translation into e-learning trainings for HIV providers.
The selected medication adherence strategies can be delivered by a variety of HIV providers (e.g., medical providers, case managers, social workers, health educators, counselors, and/or peers). The following table provides provider types and settings best suited for each medication adherence strategy.
View Table 2.
HIV Adherence Strategy by Appropriate Provider Type and Setting
The interactive and media rich e-learning trainings for the five evidence-based strategies will include the following topics:
- Overview of the adherence strategy
- Theoretical basis
- Strategy components
- Key players and staff roles and responsibilities
- Overview of session content
- Pre-implementation activities
- Video scenarios of sessions
- Integrating strategy into practice
- Additional resources (e.g., downloadable tip sheets, requesting technical assistance and capacity building)
For additional information on CDC’s medication adherence strategies, please see the Compendium of Evidence-Based HIV Behavioral Interventions: Medication Adherence Chapter.