Research dissertation on factors that constrain art adherence among teenagers at, Baylor children' s clinical excellence in Lilongwe, Malawi.
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Date
2008-12-03
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Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Abstract
This study investigated factors that constrain Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) adherence among teenagers at Baylor Clinic in Malawi. The purpose of the study was to identify some of the factors that constrain ART adherence among teenagers. The objectives of the study were to asses knowledge on relevance of ART adherence among teenagers at Baylor Clinic, determine problems associated with ART adherence among the teenagers, determine relationship between gender and age in relation to ART adherence and to determine the proportion of those who do not adhere to the ART at Baylor Clinic. Thirty teenagers were selected from those currently on ART at Baylor Clinic that is through purposeful sampling. The participants were those children aged between 12 and 19 years who were on ART at Baylor Clinic. In-depth interviews through a questionnaire were conducted in collecting data from the subjects. To ensure reliability of the data collected, the questionnaire was piloted at Baylor Clinic before the actual data collection. The researcher analysed the data collected manually and also used SPSS. Findings of the study indicated that all the teenagers at Baylor clinic of Excellence had full knowledge on ART adherence and that about 14 % of these teenagers were taking care of themselves, a factor that led to their in adherence to ART as they quite often forgot to take their medications as they forgot or did not take this seriously. The study also identified that 43% of the teenagers did not adhere to ART. There was no relationship between gender and age in relation to ART adherence.