A medication self-management program to improve adherence to HIV therapy regimens

Factor structure of the HIV-SM LMIC self-management questionnaire for people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries

INTRODUCTION

Despite the need for reliable questionnaires to monitor self-management in chronic disease patients, such tools are lacking in developing countries. This study aims to pilot and assess the construct validity of the HIV-SM LMIC questionnaire.

METHOD

The validation of the HIV-SM LMIC questionnaire involved two cross-sectional studies in Ethiopia. The first round, for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), included 261 patients, while the second round, for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), included 300 patients. Data was collected using the Kobo Collect electronic data entry template.

RESULT

The sample adequacy test showed a good value of 0.82. In the first round, 6 of the 32 items were not loaded, forming three factors in the EFA. Four of these items were dropped, but two (PSMB2 and PSMB12) were retained for their content. In the second round, CFA on the remaining 28 items led to dropping 8 more items due to conceptual overlap, resulting in a 20-item questionnaire. The final items were structured into three dimensions: awareness and well-being (4 items), self-regulation (6 items), and self-management practices (10 items).

CONCLUSION

The study refined the original 32-item HIV-SM LMIC questionnaire to a validated 20-item, three-dimensional tool with an acceptable goodness of fit. The authors recommend further cross-cultural and predictive validation and adaptation for newly diagnosed HIV patients, those with poor treatment outcomes.

The importance of self-management for better treatment outcomes for HIV patients in a low-income setting: perspectives of HIV experts and service providers

BACKGROUND

Self-management is the most important strategy to improve quality of life in patients with a chronic disease. Despite the increasing number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in low-income countries, very little research on self-management is conducted in this setting. The aim of this research is to understand the perspectives of service providers and experts on the importance of self-management for PLWH.

METHODS

A systematizing expert interview type of qualitative methodology was used to gain the perspectives of experts and service providers. The study participants had experience in researching, managing, or providing HIV service in east and southern African (ESA) countries. All the interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and translated to English. The quality of the transcripts was ensured by randomly checking the texts against the audio record. A thematic analysis approach supported by Atlas TI version 9 software.

RESULT

PLWH face a variety of multi-dimensional problems thematized under contextual and process dimensions. The problems identified under the contextual dimension include disease-specific, facility-related, and social environment-related. Problems with individual origin, such as ignorance, outweighing beliefs over scientific issues, low self-esteem, and a lack of social support, were mostly highlighted under the process dimensions. Those problems have a deleterious impact on self-management, treatment outcomes, and the quality of life of PLWH. Low self-management is also a result of professional-centered service delivery in healthcare facilities and health service providers' incapacity to comprehend a patient's need beyond the medical concerns. Participants in the study asserted that patients have a significant stake in enhancing treatment results and quality of life through enhancing self-management.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

HIV patients face multifaceted problems beyond their medical issues. The success of medical treatment for HIV is strongly contingent upon patients' self-management practices and the supportive roles of their family, society, and health service providers. The development and integration of self-management practices into clinical care will benefit patients, their families, and the health system.

A process and impact evaluation of a peer-led HIV self-management program

There is evidence that people with HIV (PWH) receive health-related benefits from having peer support and learning self-management skills. This evaluation assessed the effect of The Positive Life Workshop (TPLW)-a 7-session peer-led HIV self-management program-on psychosocial and HIV treatment outcomes. The overall sample included 1360 PWH who completed TPLW during 3/2015-2/2019. Surveys were administered before and after the program, and three months following program completion. Analyses examined changes in outcomes from pre-test to both post-test and 3-month follow-up using non-parametric tests. Subgroup analyses were conducted for 406 participants with ≥ 1 characteristic of the priority population for TPLW (i.e., recent HIV diagnosis, not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), suboptimal ART adherence, unsuppressed viral load). In the overall sample, there were statistically significant improvements in HIV-related knowledge, social support, patient self-advocacy, and confidence in self-management between pre-test and post-test/3-month follow-up assessment. Analyses for the priority population showed significant increases from pre-test to 3-month follow-up in the proportion of participants who were ≥ 90 % adherent to ART (59-83 %, p < 0.01) and virally suppressed (42 % to 66 %, p < 0.01). The findings suggest the importance of ensuring HIV self-management interventions reach vulnerable populations of PWH who struggle with initiating and maintaining HIV-related health-promoting behaviors.

Psychosocial Interventions to Promote Undetectable HIV Viral Loads: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Suppressing HIV viral loads to undetectable levels is essential for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We evaluated randomized controlled trials aimed to increase antiretroviral medication adherence and promote undetectable viral loads among people living with HIV through November 22, 2019. We extracted data from 51 eligible interventions and analyzed the results using random effects models to compare intervention effects between groups within each intervention and across interventions. We also evaluated the relation between publication date and treatment effects. Only five interventions increased undetectable viral loads significantly. As a whole, the analyzed interventions were superior to Standard of Care in promoting undetectable viral loads. Interventions published more recently were not more effective in promoting undetectable viral loads. No treatment category consistently produced significant increases in undetectable viral loads. To end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we should use interventions that can suppress HIV viral loads to undetectable levels.

Effect of electronic adherence monitoring on adherence and outcomes in chronic conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Electronic adherence monitoring (EAM) is increasingly used to improve adherence. However, there is limited evidence on the effect of EAM in across chronic conditions and on patient acceptability. We aimed to assess the effect of EAM on adherence and clinical outcomes, across all ages and all chronic conditions, and examine acceptability in this systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

A systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Social Work Abstracts, PsycINFO, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and CINAHL databases was performed from database inception to December 31, 2020. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effect of EAM on medication adherence as part of an adherence intervention in chronic conditions were included. Study characteristics, differences in adherence and clinical outcomes between intervention and control were extracted from each study. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis, and presented as mean differences, standardised mean differences (SMD) or risk ratios depending on the data. Differences by study-level characteristics were estimated using subgroup meta-analysis to identify intervention characteristics associated with improved adherence. Effects on adherence and clinical outcomes which could not be meta-analysed, and patient acceptability, were synthesised narratively. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed, and Risk of bias (RoB) assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's RoB tool for RCTs. The review is registered with PROSPERO CRD42017084231.

FINDINGS

Our search identified 365 studies, of which 47 studies involving 6194 patients were included. Data from 27 studies (n = 2584) were extracted for the adherence outcome. The intervention group (n = 1267) had significantly better adherence compared to control (n = 1317), (SMD = 0.93, CI:0.69 to 1.17, p<0.0001) with high heterogeneity across studies (I2 = 86%). There was a significant difference in effect according to intervention complexity (p = 0.01); EAM only improved adherence when used with a reminder and/or health provider support. Clinical outcomes were measured in 38/47 (81%) of studies; of these data from 14 studies were included in a meta-analysis of clinical outcomes for HIV, hypertension and asthma. In total, 13/47 (28%) studies assessed acceptability; patient perceptions were mixed.

INTERPRETATION

Patients receiving an EAM intervention had significantly better adherence than those who did not, but improved adherence did not consistently translate into clinical benefits. Acceptability data were mixed. Further research measuring effects on clinical outcomes and patient acceptability are needed.

Effect of pharmacist care on clinical outcomes among people living with HIV/AIDS: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Pharmacists play a significant role in the multidisciplinary care of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA). However, there is less evidence to clarify the impact of pharmacist as an individual team member on HIV care.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to determine the effects of pharmacist intervention on improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), viral load (VL) suppression, and change in CD4-T lymphocytes in PLWHA.

METHODS

We identified relevant records from six databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane, and EBSCOhost) from inception till June 2020. We included studies that evaluated the impact of pharmacist care activities on clinical outcomes in PLWHA. A random-effect model was used to estimate the overall effect [odds ratio (OR) for dichotomous and mean difference (MD) for continuous data] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. The review protocol was published on PROSPERO (CRD42020167994).

RESULTS

Twenty-five studies involving 3206 PLWHA in which pharmacist-provided intervention either in the form of education with or without pharmaceutical-care either alone or as an interdisciplinary team member were included. Eight studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while 17 studies were non-RCTs. Pooled-analyses showed a significant impact of pharmacist care compared to usual care group on adherence outcome (OR: 2.70 [95%, CI 1.80, 4.05]), VL suppression (OR: 4.13 [95% CI 2.27, 7.50]), and rise of CD4-T lymphocytes count (MD: 66.83 cells/mm³ [95% CI 44.08, 89.57]). The strength of evidence ranged from moderate, low to very low.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that pharmacist care improves adherence, VL suppression, and CD4-T lymphocyte improvement in PLWHA; however, it should be noted that the majority of the studies have a high risk of bias. More research with more rigorous designs is required to reaffirm the impact of pharmacist interventions on clinical and economic outcomes in PLWHA.

Determinants of immunological recovery following HAART among severely immunosuppressed patients at enrolment to care in Northern Ethiopia: a retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify determinants of immunological recovery following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among severely immunosuppressed patients at enrolment to care in Northern Ethiopia.

METHODS

A retrospective study.

SETTING

The study was done in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia.

PARTICIPANTS

The study was done among severely immunosuppressed (<200 CD4 cells/mm³) individuals at initial enrolment to care and whose samples were sent for viral load determination from April 2015 to March 2019 in Tigray Health Research Institute.

MAIN OUTCOMES

The main outcome variable was immunological recovery, modelled using binary logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among the 9687 patients with severe immunosuppression at enrolment, 2746 (28.35%, 95% CI 27.45% to 29.26%) had immunological recovery following HAART for at least 6 months. Male gender (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.50, p<0.001), age 20-34 years old (AOR=0.33, p<0.001), age ≥50 years old (AOR=0.26, p<0.001), WHO clinical stage III (OR=0.68, p=0.036) and viral non-suppression (AOR=0.38, p<0.001) were strong predictors of immunological failure.

CONCLUSIONS

Immunological recovery following HAART was low among severely immunosuppressed individuals at enrolment to care. Gender, age, WHO stage III and viral non-suppression were determinants of immunological recovery. Male patients, adolescents and virally non-suppressed patients should be identified as groups at higher risk for immunological failure. Therefore, greater support and intensive counselling should be prioritised among adolescents, men and virally non-suppressed patients for better immunological recovery.

Do interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy recognise diversity? A systematic review

People living with HIV (PLWH) are often culturally and linguistically diverse populations; these differences are associated with differing barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. Cultural competence measures the extent to which trial design recognises this diversity. This systematic review aimed to determine whether adherence trial participants represent the diversity of PLWH. Randomised Controlled Trials in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries to improve ART adherence were eligible. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. For all included trials, we searched for their development, testing and evaluation studies. We compared trial participant characteristics with nationally reported PLWH data. We appraised trial cultural competence against ten criteria; scoring each criterion as 0, 1 or 2 indicating cultural blindness, pre-competence or competence respectively. For 80 included trials, a further 13 studies presenting development/testing/evaluation data for the included trials were identified. Only one of the 80 included studies reported trial participants representative of the country's population of PLWH. The median (IQ) cultural competence score was 2.5 (1.0, 4.0) out of 20. HIV adherence trial participants are not reflective of the population with HIV, which may be due to limited adoption of culturally competent research methods.

Interventions to improve self-management of adults living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy: A systematic review

Introduction

Since its initial recognition, HIV has been responsible for around 35 million deaths globally. The introduction of Antiretroviral Therapy has helped to reduce mortality from HIV. However, the resulting increased longevity has influenced the experience of people living with HIV, which now manifests as a chronic condition requiring effective self-management. This review aimed to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve self-management of adults living with HIV on Antiretroviral therapy.

Methods

The review included published experimental studies addressing interventions to improve self-management of adults living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy. Studies were included if they addressed two or more outcomes of self-management, as defined by the Theory of Individual and Family Self-Management. The search covered four databases and was limited to papers published in the English language from 2001 to March 30, 2019. The reference lists of included studies were further searched for additional studies. Two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI SUMARI) assessed the methodological quality of the reviewed papers. Data extraction was undertaken using the JBI SUMARI standardized data extraction tool. As the included papers were not homogeneous, it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis. A narrative synthesis was undertaken to synthesize the findings of the included studies.

Results

The search identified 337 articles from which 10 experimental and 2 quasi-experimental studies were included. The total participant sample in the included studies was 1661 adults living with HIV. The overall evidence quality of the findings was considered moderate. Many of the studies included in this review comprised multi-component interventions to improve self-management. Skills training, in conjunction with other forms of interventions, particularly phone counseling, was commonly employed and generally effective in improving self-management outcomes. Counseling with a symptom management manual was another employed and effective intervention, followed by technology-assisted self-management interventions. The most common outcomes measured were maintaining medication adherence and quality of life, followed by symptom management, self-efficacy, coping, and social support.

Conclusions

Interventions to improve self-management varied across studies. However, promising outcomes achieved in the majority of studies through interventions comprising a combination of skills training, phone counseling, counseling with symptom management manuals, and technology-assisted interventions.

Immunological recovery, failure and factors associated with CD-4 T-cells progression over time, among adolescents and adults living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in Northern Ethiopia: A retrospective cross sectional study

Background

This study was aimed to assess immunological recovery, failure, and factors associated with CD-4 T-cells progression over time, among adolescents and adults living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in Northern Ethiopia.

Methods

A retrospective cross sectional study was done on 19,525 HIV patients on ART. Data were collected using a data retrieval checklist from a database. All eligible data in the database were exported to Microsoft excel 2010 and then data verification and filtration were done before exporting to STATA 14.0 for analysis. Factors associated with recent CD-4 count were modeled by using Generalized Linear Model poison family.

Results

Among the patients with advanced HIV infection (< 200 CD-4 T-cell/ mm³) at baseline, only 28.35%, 95% CI (27.45–29.26) of them had immunological recovery (≥ 500 T-cells/mm³). Only 2.14%, 95%CI (1.94%- 2.35%) of the patients had immunological failure. Baseline CD-4 count (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) = 1.0007, 95%CI = 1.00069–1.00078), patients from military health care facility (IRR = 1.11, 95%CI = 1.06–1.16), good adherence (IRR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.04–1.21) and viral load suppression (IRR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.28–1.33) were positively associated with recent CD-4 count in the full model. Whereas, being male (IRR = 0.85, 95%CI = 0.83–0.86), patients with on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) regimen of 1e (TDF-3TC-EFV), 2f (AZT-3TC-ATV/r), and 2h (TDF-3TC-ATV/r) (IRR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.91–0.94), (IRR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.55–0.76) and (IRR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.63–0.81) respectively were negatively associated with the recent CD-4 count in the full model.

Conclusions

Immunological recovery was achieved by 1/3 of the patients despite being on highly active ART (HAART). Therefore, intensive adherence counseling, follow-up and support should be focused on patients with viral non suppression to enhance immunological recovery.

Long-Term Effects of Psychological Interventions to Improve Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment in HIV-Infected Persons: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

We examined the efficacy of psychological adherence-enhancing interventions (AEIs) compared with usual care in HIV-infected adults under antiretroviral treatment (ART) by focusing on adherence and clinical HIV markers as outcomes in the short term and long term. We searched relevant databases for controlled studies that compared psychological AEIs with usual care. We included 31 comparisons from 27 individual studies in our meta-analyses. Psychological AEIs were significantly superior to usual care in improving adherence [standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.30, 95% CI 0.20-0.40] and reducing HIV viral load (SMD 0.15, 0.07-0.23) at the end of treatment. At the last follow-up, we found no difference between psychological AEIs and usual care, neither on adherence (SMD 0.07, -0.11-0.24) nor on clinical markers (SMD 0.06, -0.03-0.15). After excluding outliers from the analyses, between-study heterogeneity was small, and we did not identify any relevant moderators of intervention effects. In summary, psychological AEIs may significantly improve ART adherence and HIV viral load compared with usual care in the short term, but fail to be superior in achieving long-lasting improvements on ART adherence and clinical HIV markers as compared with usual care. Owing to limited quality and the majority of studies being conducted in the United States or Europe, our results have to be interpreted with caution, and are most relevant to the United States and Europe. The consistently reported difficulties to achieve sustained ART adherence improvements in previous and the present meta-analyses highlight the need to focus on maintaining ART adherence improvements in future research.

The Effects of Feedback on Adherence to Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of RCTs

CONTEXT

The aim of this systematic review is to determine whether providing feedback, guided by subjective or objective measures of adherence, improves adherence to treatment.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, and reference lists of retrieved articles. Only RCTs comparing the effect of feedback on adherence outcome were included. Three independent reviewers extracted data for all potentially eligible studies using an adaptation of the Cochrane Library data extraction sheet. The primary outcome, change in adherence, was obtained by measuring the difference between adherence at baseline visit (prior to feedback) and at the last visit (post-feedback).

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

Twenty-four studies were included in the systematic review, and 16 found a significant improvement in adherence in the intervention group (change in adherence range, -13% to +22%), whereas adherence worsened in the control group (change in adherence range, -32% to 10.2%). Meta-analysis included six studies, and the pooled effect showed that mean percentage adherence increased by 10.02% (95% CI=3.15%, 16.89%, p=0.004) more between baseline and follow-up in the intervention groups compared with control groups. Meta-regression confirmed that study quality, form of monitoring adherence, delivery of feedback, or study duration did not influence effect size.

CONCLUSIONS

Feedback guided by objective or subjective measures of adherence improves adherence and, perhaps more importantly, prevents worsening of adherence over time even when only small absolute improvements in adherence were noted. Increased use of feedback to improve treatment adherence has the potential to reduce avoidable healthcare costs caused by non-adherence.

An Innovative Approach to Addressing the HIV Care Continuum: Implementation of a Clinical Pharmacy Resident in a Veterans Affairs HIV Specialty Clinic

PURPOSE

Engagement of patients in the HIV care continuum and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) continue to limit successful viral suppression. Innovative practices to improve this continuum and ameliorate potential physician shortages are needed. The objective of this evaluation was to determine the clinical benefits of incorporating pharmacy resident involvement on a multidisciplinary team in caring for patients with HIV.

METHODS

A single-center pre-post cohort pilot evaluation was conducted at the Tennessee Valley Healthcare Systems VA Medical Center. Patients were enrolled in an HIV pharmacotherapy clinic implemented by an ambulatory care pharmacy resident. The primary end point of the evaluation was the percentage of patients achieving an undetectable plasma HIV viral load after enrollment. Secondary end points included change from baseline in CD4 T-cell count and self-reported adherence.

RESULTS

A total of 55 patients were seen in the HIV pharmacotherapy clinic over a 28-week evaluation period. Of those patients with detectable viral load at enrollment, 70% reached viral suppression during follow-up, with a significant 0.75 log10 decrease in the median viral load ( P < .0001 for both). The median CD4 T-cell count increased from 464 to 525 cells/mm³ ( P = .01). Reported adherence, assessed using the Visual Analogue adherence Scale (VAS) increased significantly ( P = .0001).

CONCLUSION

After enrollment in an HIV pharmacotherapy clinic, a significant decrease in viral load was seen, as were improvements in secondary end points of CD4 T cells and adherence. These data demonstrate the clinical benefits of pharmacy resident involvement on a multidisciplinary team in caring for patients with HIV.

Interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

High adherence to antiretroviral therapy is crucial to the success of HIV treatment. We evaluated comparative effectiveness of adherence interventions with the aim of informing the WHO's global guidance on interventions to increase adherence.

METHODS

For this systematic review and network meta-analysis, we searched for randomised controlled trials of interventions that aimed to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy regimens in populations with HIV. We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and MEDLINE for reports published up to July 16, 2015, and searched major conference abstracts from Jan 1, 2013, to July 16, 2015. We extracted data from eligible studies for study characteristics, interventions, patients' characteristics at baseline, and outcomes for the study populations of interest. We used network meta-analyses to compare adherence and viral suppression for all study settings (global network) and for studies in low-income and middle-income countries only (LMIC network).

FINDINGS

We obtained data from 85 trials with 16 271 participants. Short message service (SMS; text message) interventions were superior to standard of care in improving adherence in both the global network (odds ratio [OR] 1·48, 95% credible interval [CrI] 1·00-2·16) and in the LMIC network (1·49, 1·04-2·09). Multiple interventions showed generally superior adherence to single interventions, indicating additive effects. For viral suppression, only cognitive behavioural therapy (1·46, 1·05-2·12) and supporter interventions (1·28, 1·01-1·71) were superior to standard of care in the global network; none of the interventions improved viral response in the LMIC network. For the global network, the time discrepancy (whether the study outcome was measured during or after intervention was withdrawn) was an effect modifier for both adherence to antiretroviral therapy (coefficient estimate -0·43, 95% CrI -0·75 to -0·11) and viral suppression (-0·48; -0·84 to -0·12), suggesting that the effects of interventions wane over time.

INTERPRETATION

Several interventions can improve adherence and viral suppression; generally, their estimated effects were modest and waned over time.

FUNDING

WHO.

Psychosocial Correlates of Medication Adherence among HIV-Positive, Cognitively Impaired Individuals

Although cognitive impairment has been shown to adversely affect antiviral medication adherence, a subset of cognitively impaired adults nonetheless are able to adequately adhere to their medication regimen. However, little is known about factors that serve as buffers against suboptimal adherence among the cognitively impaired. This study consisted of 160 HIV-positive, cognitively impaired adults (Global Deficit Score ≥ 0.50) whose medication adherence was monitored over 6-months using an electronic monitoring device (MEMS caps). Logistic regressions were run to determine psychosocial variables associated with medication adherence. Higher self-efficacy and treatment related support, a stable medication regimen, stable stress levels, and absence of current stimulant use were predictive of optimal adherence. A distinct array of psychosocial factors was found that buffer against the adverse effects of cognitive impairment on medication adherence. Assessment and interventions targeting these factors may improve adherence rates among cognitively impaired adults.

The Positive Outlook Study: A Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating Online Self-Management for HIV Positive Gay Men

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness of an online self-management program in improving health outcomes and well-being for gay men living with HIV in Australia. The online Positive Outlook Program was based on self-efficacy theory and used a self-management approach to enhance HIV-positive gay men's skills, confidence and abilities to manage the psychosocial issues associated with HIV in daily life. The 7-week program was delivered in closed groups and comprised information modules, action-planning activities, moderated discussion boards, and weekly peer-facilitated 'live chats'. A randomised controlled trial was conducted to establish the effectiveness of the Positive Outlook program compared to a 'usual care' control. Participants were HIV-positive gay men 18 years or older living in Australia. Primary outcomes were evaluated at three time-points (baseline, post-intervention and 12-week's post-intervention follow-up) and included HIV-related quality of life (PROQOL-HIV), outcomes of health education (HeiQ) and HIV specific self-efficacy (Positive Outlook Self-Efficacy Scale). A total of 132 gay men with HIV in Australia were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 68) or usual care control (n = 64) groups. Maximum likelihood marginal-linear modelling indicated significant improvement in the intervention group on the PROQOL-HIV subscales of body change (p = 0.036), social relationships (p = 0.035) and emotional distress (p = 0.031); the HeiQ subscales of health-directed activity (p = 0.048); constructive attitudes and approaches (p = 0.015); skill and technique acquisition (p = 0.046) and health service navigation (p = 0.008); and the Positive Outlook Self-Efficacy Scale on the subscales of relationships (p = 0.019); social participation (p = 0.006); and emotions (p = 0.041). Online delivery of self-management programs is feasible and has the potential to improve quality of life, self-management skills and domain specific self-efficacy for gay men with HIV.

Electronic Adherence Monitoring in a High-Utilizing Pediatric Asthma Cohort: A Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND

Inner-city, minority children with asthma have the highest rates of morbidity and death from asthma and the lowest rates of asthma controller medication adherence. Some recent electronic medication monitoring interventions demonstrated dramatic improvements in adherence in lower-risk populations. The feasibility and acceptability of such an intervention in the highest-risk children with asthma has not been studied.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence monitoring intervention among the highest utilizers of acute asthma care in an inner-city practice.

METHODS

This was a prospective cohort pilot study targeting children with the highest frequency of asthma-related emergency department and hospital care within a local managed care Medicaid plan. The 3-month intervention included motivational interviewing, electronic monitoring of controller and rescue inhaler use, and outreach by a community health worker for predefined medication alerts. We measured acceptability by using a modified technology acceptability model and changes in asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Given prominent feasibility issues, we describe qualitative patterns of medication use at baseline only.

RESULTS

We enrolled 14 non-Hispanic black children with a median age of 3.5 years. Participants averaged 7.8 emergency or hospital visits in the year preceding enrollment. We observed three distinct patterns of baseline controller use: 4 patients demonstrated sustained use, 5 patients had periodic use, and 5 patients lapsed within 2 weeks. All participants initiated use of the electronic devices; however, no modem signal was transmitted for 5 or the 14 participants after a mean of 45 days. Of the 9 (64% of total) caregivers who completed the final study visit, all viewed the electronic monitoring device favorably and would recommend it to friends, and 5 (56%) believed that the device helped to improve asthma control. ACT scores improved by a mean of 2.7 points (P=.05) over the 3-month intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

High-utilizer, minority families who completed a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence intervention found it generally acceptable. Prominent feasibility concerns, however, such as recruitment, data transmission failure, and lost devices, should be carefully considered when designing interventions in this setting.

Are you ready? Exploring readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV and multimorbidity in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to explore readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV and multimorbidity.

DESIGN

We conducted a descriptive qualitative study using face-to-face semistructured interviews with adults living with HIV.

SETTING

We recruited adults (18 years or older) who self-identified as living with HIV and 2 or more additional health-related conditions from a specialty hospital in Toronto, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

14 participants with a median age of 50 years and median number of 9 concurrent health-related conditions participated in the study. The majority of participants were men (64%) with an undetectable viral load (71%).

OUTCOME MEASURES

We asked participants to describe their readiness to engage in exercise and explored how contextual factors influenced their readiness. We analysed interview transcripts using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We developed a framework to describe readiness to engage in exercise and the interplay of factors and their influence on readiness among adults with HIV and multimorbidity. Readiness was described as a diverse, dynamic and fluctuating spectrum ranging from not thinking about exercise to routinely engaging in daily exercise. Readiness was influenced by the complex and episodic nature of HIV and multimorbidity comprised of physical impairments, mental health challenges and uncertainty from HIV and concurrent health conditions. This key factor created a context within which 4 additional subfactors (social supports, perceptions and beliefs, past experience with exercise, and accessibility) may further hinder or facilitate an individual's position along the spectrum of readiness to exercise.

CONCLUSIONS

Readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV is a dynamic and fluctuating construct that may be influenced by the episodic nature of HIV and multimorbidity and 4 subfactors. Strategies to facilitate readiness to exercise should consider the interplay of these factors in order to enhance physical activity and subsequently improve health outcomes of people with HIV and multimorbidity.

EPICE-HIV: An Epidemiologic Cost-Effectiveness Model for HIV Treatment

The goal of this research was to establish a new and innovative framework for cost-effectiveness modeling of HIV-1 treatment, simultaneously considering both clinical and epidemiological outcomes. EPICE-HIV is a multi-paradigm model based on a within-host micro-simulation model for the disease progression of HIV-1 infected individuals and an agent-based sexual contact network (SCN) model for the transmission of HIV-1 infection. It includes HIV-1 viral dynamics, CD4⁺ T cell infection rates, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics modeling. Disease progression of HIV-1 infected individuals is driven by the interdependent changes in CD4⁺ T cell count, changes in plasma HIV-1 RNA, accumulation of resistance mutations and adherence to treatment. The two parts of the model are joined through a per-sexual-act and viral load dependent probability of disease transmission in HIV-discordant couples. Internal validity of the disease progression part of the model is assessed and external validity is demonstrated in comparison to the outcomes observed in the STaR randomized controlled clinical trial. We found that overall adherence to treatment and the resulting pattern of treatment interruptions are key drivers of HIV-1 treatment outcomes. Our model, though largely independent of efficacy data from RCT, was accurate in producing 96-week outcomes, qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to the ones observed in the STaR trial. We demonstrate that multi-paradigm micro-simulation modeling is a promising tool to generate evidence about optimal policy strategies in HIV-1 treatment, including treatment efficacy, HIV-1 transmission, and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Persons Living With HIV/AIDS: Employment as a Social Determinant of Health

Purpose: For persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy has increased their longevity and quality of life. As HIV progresses, many PLWHA present declined domains of functioning that impede their ability to work. The authors explore employment as a social determinant of health to identify issues impacting employment outcomes for PLWHA.

Methods: The authors reviewed the literature addressing HIV across the domains of mental health functioning, neurocognitive functioning, and physical function and employment.

Results: When providing employment services to PLWHA, considerations for rehabilitation practitioners and educators include HIV/AIDS education, functional assessment, social support, considerations for women with HIV, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV/AIDS stigma, and employment resources for PLWHA.

Conclusion: With more than 1.2 million PLWHA in the United States, and most of new infections among persons 25–44 years of age, the prevalence of PLWHA seeking employment and inclusive of the U.S. workforce will continue to increase. Proving employment services for PLWHA is a complex process that is best served by an integrative service approach.

Electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling to improve adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy and virologic treatment outcomes: a meta-analysis

Background

Adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy for HIV infection is a primary determinant of treatment success, but is often suboptimal. Previous studies have suggested that electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling is among the most effective adherence intervention components. Our objective was to review available evidence about the effectiveness of monitoring-informed counseling and to aggregate findings into quantitative estimates of the effect of such intervention on medication adherence and virologic treatment outcomes.

Methods

We searched PubMed for papers reporting on randomized controlled trials comparing intervention groups receiving monitoring-informed counseling as one of the intervention components versus control groups not receiving such counseling for their effect on medication adherence and viral load concentrations. The standardized mean difference (SMD) in adherence and the odds ratio (OR) of undetectable HIV RNA in intervention versus control groups were the common effect sizes. Random-effect models with inverse variance weights were used to aggregate findings into pooled effect estimates with 95% confidence limits (CI).

Results

A total of 13 studies were included. Adherence was significantly higher in intervention groups than in control groups (SMD 0.51, 95% CI 0.31–0.71). Patients in intervention groups were significantly more likely to have undetectable HIV RNA concentrations than patients in control groups (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.12–1.63). However, in studies in which monitoring-informed counseling was the only intervention component, the difference in adherence and virologic response between intervention and control groups was not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Electronic monitoring-informed counseling improved adherence and virologic response compared with control groups not receiving such counseling in studies in which it was one out of multiple intervention components, but not in studies where it was the only intervention component.

Healthcare costs associated with antiretroviral adherence among medicaid patients

BACKGROUND

The relationship of antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence to total healthcare expenditures for Medicaid-insured people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) is not well understood, especially among asymptomatic HIV-positive patients.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined Medicaid-insured HIV-positive and AIDS-diagnosed patient groups to determine the association of ART adherence to mean monthly total healthcare expenditures in the 24-month measurement period, controlling for demographic, geographic, insurance, and clinical factors. The present study extends the existing literature by analyzing the relationship of ART adherence to total healthcare costs for asymptomatic HIV-positive patients separately from those patients with AIDS-defining conditions.

METHODS

This retrospective study utilized claims data from Florida Medicaid claims from July 2006 through June 2011. All patients (n = 502) were HIV-positive, aged 18-64 years, non-pregnant, and ART naïve for at least 12 months prior to the measurement period. Each patient was categorized, based on medication possession ratios, as adherent (≥90 %) or non-adherent (<90 %), and were divided into two groups: HIV positive (n = 232) and AIDS diagnosed (n = 270). Generalized linear models predicted the mean monthly total expenditures for the non-adherence group versus the adherence group.

RESULTS

For the HIV-positive group, the adjusted mean monthly expenditures for the non-adherent group were US$1,291; the adherent group adjusted mean monthly expenditures were US$1,926. The HIV-positive non-adherent group adjusted mean monthly expenditures were significantly less than the adherent group (-40 %, p < 0.001). However, for the AIDS-diagnosed group, there was not a statistically significant association of ART adherence to total healthcare expenditures (p = 0.29).

CONCLUSION

The results show that the relationship of ART adherence to healthcare costs is more complex than previously reported.

Advancing research and practice in HIV and rehabilitation: a framework of research priorities in HIV, disability and rehabilitation

BACKGROUND

HIV increasingly is experienced as a complex chronic illness where individuals are living longer with a range of physical, cognitive, mental and social health-related challenges associated with HIV, comorbidities and aging, a concept that may be termed 'disability'. Rehabilitation such as physical therapy and occupational therapy can help address disability and has the potential to improve quality of life in people living with HIV. Hence, the role for rehabilitation in the context of HIV, aging and comorbidities is emerging. Our aim was to establish a framework of research priorities in HIV, disability and rehabilitation.

METHODS

We convened people living with HIV, clinicians, researchers, service providers, representatives from community-based organizations and policy and funding stakeholders to participate in the first International Forum on HIV and Rehabilitation Research. We conducted a multi-stakeholder consultation to identify current and emerging issues in HIV, disability and rehabilitation. Data were collated and analyzed using content analytical techniques.

RESULTS

Ninety-two participants attended the Forum from Canada, United Kingdom (UK), Ireland and the United States. Situated within three overarching themes (episodic health and disability across the life course; rehabilitation; and methodological advances), the Framework of Research Priorities in HIV, Disability and Rehabilitation includes six research priorities: 1) episodic health and disability; 2) aging with HIV across the life course; 3) concurrent health conditions; 4) access to rehabilitation and models of rehabilitation service provision; 5) effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions; and 6) enhancing outcome measurement in HIV and rehabilitation research. The Framework includes methodological considerations and environmental and personal contextual factors (or lenses) through which to approach research in the field. Knowledge translation should be implemented throughout the development and application of research knowledge to inform HIV clinical practice, programming and policy.

CONCLUSIONS

These priorities highlight the emerging priorities of living long-term with HIV and outline a plan for HIV and rehabilitation research in resource-rich countries such as the UK and Canada.

Informing the development of an online self-management program for men living with HIV: a needs assessment

Background

The aim of this mixed methods study was to conduct a multifaceted needs assessment to inform the development of an online self-management program for men living with HIV. The objectives were to describe the health-related quality of life for men living with HIV, the impact of living with HIV, and the perceived problem areas and service and support needs of these men. The needs assessment was conducted in accordance with the PRECEDE model for health promotion program planning.

Methods

A survey assessing the quality of life of men living with HIV (n = 72) was conducted and results were compared to Australian normative data. Focus groups were also undertaken with men living with HIV (n = 11) and a multidisciplinary team of service providers working in the area of HIV (n = 11). Focus groups enabled an in-depth description of the impact of HIV on quality of life and perceived problem areas in daily life.

Results

HIV-positive men experience significantly lower quality of life when compared with Australian normative data, particularly in those domains concerned with social and emotional aspects of quality of life. Qualitative focus groups yielded an overarching theme ‘The psychosocial impact of HIV’ which contained three sub-themes; (1) Life before and after HIV – a changed identity and its repercussions; (2) Resilience and the importance of social support; (3) Negotiating the practicalities – intimate relationships and disclosure.

Conclusions

The findings from this needs assessment highlight the need to target socio-emotional contexts of HIV positive men’s daily lives to improve quality of life and well-being. Intervention priorities for the proposed online self-management program include: (1) managing the emotional impact of HIV; (2) disclosing HIV status to family and friends; (3) maintaining social connectedness; (4) managing HIV within intimate relationships; and (5) disclosure of HIV status to intimate partners.

Interventions for enhancing medication adherence

BACKGROUND

People who are prescribed self administered medications typically take only about half their prescribed doses. Efforts to assist patients with adherence to medications might improve the benefits of prescribed medications.

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this review is to assess the effects of interventions intended to enhance patient adherence to prescribed medications for medical conditions, on both medication adherence and clinical outcomes.

SEARCH METHODS

We updated searches of The Cochrane Library, including CENTRAL (via http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cochranelibrary/search/), MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO (all via Ovid), CINAHL (via EBSCO), and Sociological Abstracts (via ProQuest) on 11 January 2013 with no language restriction. We also reviewed bibliographies in articles on patient adherence, and contacted authors of relevant original and review articles.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included unconfounded RCTs of interventions to improve adherence with prescribed medications, measuring both medication adherence and clinical outcome, with at least 80% follow-up of each group studied and, for long-term treatments, at least six months follow-up for studies with positive findings at earlier time points.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently extracted all data and a third author resolved disagreements. The studies differed widely according to medical condition, patient population, intervention, measures of adherence, and clinical outcomes. Pooling results according to one of these characteristics still leaves highly heterogeneous groups, and we could not justify meta-analysis. Instead, we conducted a qualitative analysis with a focus on the RCTs with the lowest risk of bias for study design and the primary clinical outcome.

MAIN RESULTS

The present update included 109 new RCTs published since the previous update in January 2007, bringing the total number of RCTs to 182; we found five RCTs from the previous update to be ineligible and excluded them. Studies were heterogeneous for patients, medical problems, treatment regimens, adherence interventions, and adherence and clinical outcome measurements, and most had high risk of bias. The main changes in comparison with the previous update include that we now: 1) report a lack of convincing evidence also specifically among the studies with the lowest risk of bias; 2) do not try to classify studies according to intervention type any more, due to the large heterogeneity; 3) make our database available for collaboration on sub-analyses, in acknowledgement of the need to make collective advancement in this difficult field of research. Of all 182 RCTs, 17 had the lowest risk of bias for study design features and their primary clinical outcome, 11 from the present update and six from the previous update. The RCTs at lowest risk of bias generally involved complex interventions with multiple components, trying to overcome barriers to adherence by means of tailored ongoing support from allied health professionals such as pharmacists, who often delivered intense education, counseling (including motivational interviewing or cognitive behavioral therapy by professionals) or daily treatment support (or both), and sometimes additional support from family or peers. Only five of these RCTs reported improvements in both adherence and clinical outcomes, and no common intervention characteristics were apparent. Even the most effective interventions did not lead to large improvements in adherence or clinical outcomes.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Across the body of evidence, effects were inconsistent from study to study, and only a minority of lowest risk of bias RCTs improved both adherence and clinical outcomes. Current methods of improving medication adherence for chronic health problems are mostly complex and not very effective, so that the full benefits of treatment cannot be realized. The research in this field needs advances, including improved design of feasible long-term interventions, objective adherence measures, and sufficient study power to detect improvements in patient-important clinical outcomes. By making our comprehensive database available for sharing we hope to contribute to achieving these advances.

Identification of evidence-based interventions for promoting HIV medication adherence: findings from a systematic review of U.S.-based studies, 1996-2011

A systematic review was conducted to identify evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for increasing HIV medication adherence behavior or decreasing HIV viral load among persons living with HIV (PLWH). We conducted automated searches of electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL) and manual searches of journals, reference lists, and listservs. Interventions were eligible for the review if they were U.S.-based, published between 1996 and 2011, intended to improve HIV medication adherence behaviors of PLWH, evaluated the intervention using a comparison group, and reported outcome data on adherence behaviors or HIV viral load. Each intervention was evaluated on the quality of study design, implementation, analysis, and strength of findings. Of the 65 eligible interventions, 10 are EBIs. The remaining 55 interventions failed to meet the efficacy criteria primarily due to null findings, small sample sizes, or low retention rates. Research gaps and future directions for development of adherence EBIs are discussed.

Interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a rapid systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has substantially improved over the past decade. In this new era of HIV as a chronic disease, the continued success of ART will depend critically on sustained high ART adherence. The objective of this review was to systematically review interventions that can improve adherence to ART, including individual-level interventions and changes to the structure of ART delivery, to inform the evidence base for the 2013 WHO consolidated antiretroviral guidelines.

DESIGN

A rapid systematic review.

METHODS

We conducted a rapid systematic review of the global evidence on interventions to improve adherence to ART, utilizing pre-existing systematic reviews to identify relevant research evidence complemented by screening of databases for articles published over the past 2 years on evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched five databases for both systematic reviews and primary RCT studies (Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and WHO Global Health Library); we additionally searched ClinicalTrials.gov for RCT studies. We examined intervention effectiveness by different study characteristics, in particular, the specific populations who received the intervention.

RESULTS

A total of 124 studies met our selection criteria. Eighty-six studies were RCTs. More than 20 studies have tested the effectiveness of each of the following interventions, either singly or in combination with other interventions: cognitive-behavioural interventions, education, treatment supporters, directly observed therapy, and active adherence reminder devices (such as mobile phone text messages). Although there is strong evidence that all five of these interventions can significantly increase ART adherence in some settings, each intervention has also been found not to produce significant effects in several studies. Almost half (55) of the 124 studies investigated the effectiveness of combination interventions. Combination interventions tended to have effects that were similar to those of single interventions. The evidence base on interventions in key populations was weak, with the exception of interventions for people who inject drugs.

CONCLUSION

Tested and effective adherence-enhancing interventions should be increasingly moved into implementation in routine programme and care settings, accompanied by rigorous evaluation of implementation impact and performance. Major evidence gaps on adherence-enhancing interventions remain, in particular, on the cost-effectiveness of interventions in different settings, long-term effectiveness, and effectiveness of interventions in specific populations, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Identification and assessment of adherence-enhancing interventions in studies assessing medication adherence through electronically compiled drug dosing histories: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Background

Non-adherence to medications is prevalent across all medical conditions that include ambulatory pharmacotherapy and is thus a major barrier to achieving the benefits of otherwise effective medicines.

Objective

The objective of this systematic review was to identify and to compare the efficacy of strategies and components thereof that improve implementation of the prescribed drug dosing regimen and maintain long-term persistence, based on quantitative evaluation of effect sizes across the aggregated trials.

Data sources

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials that tested the efficacy of adherence-enhancing strategies with self-administered medications. The searches were limited to papers in the English language and were included from database inception to 31 December 2011.

Study selection

Our review included randomized controlled trials in which adherence was assessed by electronically compiled drug dosing histories. Five thousand four hundred studies were screened. Eligibility assessment was performed independently by two reviewers. A structured data collection sheet was developed to extract data from each study.

Study appraisal and synthesis methods

The adherence-enhancing components were classified in eight categories. Quality of the papers was assessed using the criteria of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions guidelines to assess potential bias. A combined adherence outcome was derived from the different adherence variables available in the studies by extracting from each paper the available adherence summary variables in a pre-defined order (correct dosing, taking adherence, timing adherence, percentage of adherent patients). To study the association between the adherence-enhancing components and their effect on adherence, a linear meta-regression model, based on mean adherence point estimates, and a meta-analysis were conducted.

Results

Seventy-nine clinical trials published between 1995 and December 2011 were included in the review. Patients randomized to an intervention group had an average combined adherence outcome of 74.3 %, which was 14.1 % higher than in patients randomized to the control group (60.2 %). The linear meta-regression analysis with stepwise variable selection estimated an 8.8 % increase in adherence when the intervention included feedback to the patients of their recent dosing history (EM-feedback) (p < 0.01) and a 5.0 % increase in adherence when the intervention included a cognitive-educational component (p = 0.02). In addition, the effect of interventions on adherence decreased by 1.1 % each month. Sensitivity analysis by selecting only high-quality papers confirmed the robustness of the model. The random effects model in the meta-analysis, conducted on 48 studies, confirmed the above findings and showed that the improvement in adherence was 19.8 % (95 % CI 10.7–28.9 %) among patients receiving EM-feedback, almost double the improvement in adherence for studies that did not include this type of feedback [10.3 % (95 % CI 7.5–13.1 %)] (p < 0.01). The improvement in adherence was 16.1 % (95 % CI 10.7–21.6 %) in studies that tested cognitive-educational components versus 10.1 % (95 % CI 6.6–13.6 %) in studies that did not include this type of intervention (p = 0.04). Among 57 studies measuring clinical outcomes, only 8 reported a significant improvement in clinical outcome.

Limitations

Despite a common measurement, the meta-analysis was limited by the heterogeneity of the pooled data and the different measures of medication adherence. The funnel plot showed a possible publication bias in studies with high variability of the intervention effect.

Conclusions

Notwithstanding the statistical heterogeneity among the studies identified, and potential publication bias, the evidence from our meta-analysis suggests that EM-feedback and cognitive-educational interventions are potentially effective approaches to enhance patient adherence to medications. The limitations of this research highlight the urgent need to define guidelines and study characteristics for research protocols that can guide researchers in designing studies to assess the effects of adherence-enhancing interventions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40265-013-0041-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Self-management interventions for people living with human immunodeficiency virus: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Self-management is an important emerging intervention for people with human immunodeficiency virus (PHAs). The principles of self-management are consistent with the principles of client-centred occupational therapy.

PURPOSE

This scoping review addressed three questions about self-management interventions for PHAs: (a) What knowledge, skills, and attitudes are taught? (b) What outcomes are intended? (c) What are the participation experiences of PHAs?

METHOD

Questions were searched in six databases. Two researchers independently reviewed abstracts and articles before inclusion. Extracted data were iteratively themed.

FINDINGS

Thirty-five articles were included. Interventions taught self-care, interpersonal skills, technical knowledge, cognitive skills, positive attitudes, planning for the future, and role management. Outcomes included well-being, health and illness management, and health services use. Participation experiences reflected social experiences, needs of PHAs, specific needs of women, participation, empowerment, intervention importance, and experiences with service delivery.

IMPLICATIONS

Self-management interventions are a promising approach for occupational therapists to enable PHAs' occupational performance goals.

A pilot test of the HOPE Intervention to explore employment and mental health among African American gay men living with HIV/AIDS: results from a CBPR study

The Helping Overcome Problems Effectively (HOPE) intervention was developed by a community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership to improve mental health and employment outcomes of African American gay men living with HIV/AIDS. The intervention blended locally collected formative data, social cognitive theory, hope theory, and the lived experiences of African American gay men living with HIV/AIDS. The HOPE intervention included 7 weekly 3-hour group sessions, with participant assessment at baseline and 3-month post-intervention. A total of 7 African American men, who self-identified as gay and unemployed, participated. Mean age was 46.1 (range = 37-57) years. Throughout the intervention, participants developed goal-setting skills, problem-solving skills, health-promoting behaviors, and employment seeking behaviors. The results suggest that the HOPE intervention may be promising in improving mental health and employment outcomes.

The economic burden of inappropriate drug prescribing, lack of adherence and compliance, adverse drug events in older people: a systematic review

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are an increasingly relevant issue for healthcare systems as they are associated with poorer health outcomes and avoidable misuse of resources. The rates of ADEs are higher in the elderly population, as many older patients have comorbidities, multiple drug prescriptions and deteriorated physical and cognitive functioning. The occurrence of ADEs can lead to a perceived lack of therapy efficacy and further underuse or suboptimal adherence in elderly people, with detrimental clinical outcomes. The present article systematically reviews the studies evaluating the economic impact of ADEs occurring as consequence of poor therapy adherence, inappropriate drug use, underuse of effective treatments and poor adherence, medication errors, drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.A Medline systematic literature review of studies evaluating the economic consequences of inappropriate drug prescribing, lack of adherence and compliance, ADEs in older people was performed. English-language articles were screened through a three-step approach (title review, abstract review, full article review) to select pertinent studies quantitatively evaluating costs. We systematically reviewed evidence from767 articles. After title, abstract and full text review, 21 articles were found to measure economic implications ofADEs, inappropriate drug prescribing and poor adherence in elderly patients. Studies suggested that the economic impact of these undesired effects is substantial: hospital costs were the main cost driver, with a relevant part of them being preventable (consequences of inappropriate prescribing). Healthcare costs for unused drug wastage and destruction were also surprisingly high.Although economic evidence in elderly patients is still limited, all studies seemed to confirm that the financial burden due to pharmacological treatment issues is relevant in elderly people. Including economic effects of adverse events in pharmacoeconomic analysis would be beneficial to improve the reliability of results. Preliminary evidence suggests that programmes aimed at comprehensively assessing geriatric conditions, detecting 'high-risk' prescriptions and training patients to comply with prescribed therapies could be costeffective measures to reduce the burden of ADEs.

A meta-analysis of cognitive-based behaviour change techniques as interventions to improve medication adherence

OBJECTIVE

To describe and evaluate the use of cognitive-based behaviour change techniques as interventions to improve medication adherence.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to improve medication adherence.

DATA SOURCES

Search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library databases from the earliest year to April 2013 without language restriction. References of included studies were also screened to identify further relevant articles.

REVIEW METHODS

We used predefined criteria to select randomised controlled trials describing a medication adherence intervention that used Motivational Interviewing (MI) or other cognitive-based techniques. Data were extracted and risk of bias was assessed by two independent reviewers. We conducted the meta-analysis using a random effects model and Hedges' g as the measure of effect size.

RESULTS

We included 26 studies (5216 participants) in the meta-analysis. Interventions most commonly used MI, but many used techniques such as aiming to increase the patient's confidence and sense of self-efficacy, encouraging support-seeking behaviours and challenging negative thoughts, which were not specifically categorised. Interventions were most commonly delivered from community-based settings by routine healthcare providers such as general practitioners and nurses. An effect size (95% CI) of 0.34 (0.23 to 0.46) was calculated and was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Heterogeneity was high with an I(2) value of 68%. Adjustment for publication bias generated a more conservative estimate of summary effect size of 0.21 (0.08 to 0.33). The majority of subgroup analyses produced statistically non-significant results.

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive-based behaviour change techniques are effective interventions eliciting improvements in medication adherence that are likely to be greater than the behavioural and educational interventions largely used in current practice. Subgroup analyses suggest that these interventions are amenable to use across different populations and in differing manners without loss of efficacy. These factors may facilitate incorporation of these techniques into routine care.

Adherence to PEG/ribavirin treatment for chronic hepatitis C: prevalence, patterns, and predictors of missed doses and nonpersistence

Adherence to treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) maximizes treatment efficacy. Missed doses and failing to persist on treatment are two patient-level processes that are rarely defined or analysed separately from other factors affecting treatment adherence. We evaluated the prevalence and patterns of missed doses and nonpersistence, and identified patient characteristics associated with these outcomes. Missed doses of ribavirin (RBV) and peginterferon (PEG), measured prospectively in Virahep-C using electronic monitoring technology, were analysed using generalized estimating equations. Cox proportional hazards models analysed time to nonpersistence from baseline to week 24 (N = 401) and from week 24 to 48 in Responders (N = 242). Average proportion of PEG- and RBV-missed doses increased over time from 5% to 15% and 7% to 27%, respectively. Patients who were younger, African-American, unemployed, or unmarried were at greater risk of missing PEG from week 0 to 24; higher baseline depression predicted missing PEG from weeks 24 to 48. Patients who were younger or African-American were more likely to miss daily RBV from weeks 0 to 24; and those without private insurance or employment were more likely to miss RBV from weeks 24 to 48. Fifty-two patients failed to persist on treatment for patient-driven deviations. Predictors of nonpersistence from weeks 0 to 24 included younger age, lower education, public or no insurance, or worse baseline headaches. In conclusion, electronic monitoring and the prospective Virahep-C design afforded a unique opportunity to evaluate missing doses and nonpersistence separately, and identify patients at risk of nonadherence. These processes will be important to investigate as the dosing schedules of antiviral regimens become increasingly complex.

Cost of behavioral interventions utilizing electronic drug monitoring for antiretroviral therapy adherence

OBJECTIVE

To provide data on the actual costs associated with behavioral ART adherence interventions and electronic drug monitoring used in a clinical trial to inform their implementation in future studies and real-world practice.

METHODS

Direct and time costs were calculated from a multisite 3-arm randomized controlled ART adherence trial. HIV-positive participants (n = 204) were randomized to standard care, enhanced counseling (EC), or EC and modified directly observed therapy (mDOT) interventions. Electronic drug monitoring (EDM) was used. Costs were calculated for various components of the 24-week adherence intervention. This economic evaluation was conducted from the perspective of an agency that may wish to implement these strategies. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine costs and savings associated with different scenarios.

RESULTS

Total direct costs were $126,068 ($618 per patient). Initial time costs were $53,590 ($262 per patient). Base cost of labor was $0.36/min. EC costs for 134 patients were $18,427 ($137 per patient) and mDOT for 64 patients cost $18,638 ($291 per patient). Total per patient costs were as follows: standard care = $880, EC = $1018, EC/mDOT = $1309. Removing driving costs evidenced the most variable impact on savings between the 3 study arms. The tornado diagram (sensitivity analysis) showed a graphical representation of how each sensitivity assumption reduced costs compared with each other and the resulting comparative costs for each group.

CONCLUSIONS

This novel economic analysis provides valuable cost information to guide treatment implementation and research design decisions.

Medication adherence feedback intervention predicts improved human immunodeficiency virus clinical markers

Thirty-three participants in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medication adherence feedback (MAF) intervention were compared with 58 HIV-positive non-participants in laboratory-tested CD4 and viral load. The intervention provided adherence feedback and counselling based on a visual display from an electronic pill bottle (MEMS(TM) ). Multiple regression controlling for baseline CD4 and showed that postintervention CD4 was higher for MAF participants than for non-MAF participants. Non-MAF participants' CD4 significantly declined over time. MAF participants were also less likely than non-MAF participants to have a detectable postintervention viral load.

Informing the dosing of interventions in randomized trials

Dosing is potentially the most important decision that must be made when building or refining behavioral interventions. In this paper, we propose standardized terminology and reporting of dosing information, which would inform intervention development, refinement for dissemination, and systematic reviews of dose-response relationships. Dosing of interventions may be characterized by duration, frequency, and amount. To illustrate the value of operationalizing these three parameters to evaluate dose-response relationships, 31 published reports of behavioral interventions to increase adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) were reviewed. The ART literature was characterized by under-reporting of dosing parameters, heterogeneity in dosing schedules, and heterogeneity in type of control group, which complicate analysis of dose-response relationships in systematic review and determination of the optimal dose for intervention dissemination. Improved reporting of the three dosing parameters and comparison of intended to actual delivery can inform the identification of the most effective intervention doses and the efficient implementation of efficacious interventions in clinical practice.

Guidelines for improving entry into and retention in care and antiretroviral adherence for persons with HIV: evidence-based recommendations from an International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care panel

DESCRIPTION

After HIV diagnosis, timely entry into HIV medical care and retention in that care are essential to the provision of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). Adherence to ART is among the key determinants of successful HIV treatment outcome and is essential to minimize the emergence of drug resistance. The International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care convened a panel to develop evidence-based recommendations to optimize entry into and retention in care and ART adherence for people with HIV.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted to produce an evidence base restricted to randomized, controlled trials and observational studies with comparators that had at least 1 measured biological or behavioral end point. A total of 325 studies met the criteria. Two reviewers independently extracted and coded data from each study using a standardized data extraction form. Panel members drafted recommendations based on the body of evidence for each method or intervention and then graded the overall quality of the body of evidence and the strength for each recommendation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations are provided for monitoring entry into and retention in care, interventions to improve entry and retention, and monitoring of and interventions to improve ART adherence. Recommendations cover ART strategies, adherence tools, education and counseling, and health system and service delivery interventions. In addition, they cover specific issues pertaining to pregnant women, incarcerated individuals, homeless and marginally housed individuals, and children and adolescents, as well as substance use and mental health disorders. Recommendations for future research in all areas are also provided.

Reliability and validity of a self-efficacy instrument for hepatitis C antiviral treatment regimens

Self-efficacy or confidence in one's ability to successfully engage in goal-directed behaviour has been shown to influence medication adherence across many chronic illnesses. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of a self-efficacy instrument used during treatment for chronic hepatitis C viral infection (HCV). Baseline (n = 394) and treatment week 24 (n = 254) data from the prospective, longitudinal Viral Resistance to Antiviral Therapy of Chronic Hepatitis C study were examined. Baseline participants were randomly split into two equal-sized subsamples (S(1) and S(2) ). Initial exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA) were performed on S(1), while S(2) was used to validate the factor structure of the S(1) results using CFA. An additional CFA was performed on the treatment week 24 participants. Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed by comparing the revised instrument with other psychosocial measures: depression, social support, quality of life and medication-taking behaviour. Our findings supported a reduced 17-item global measure of HCV treatment self-efficacy (HCV-TSE) with four underlying factors: patient communication self-efficacy, general physical coping self-efficacy, general psychological coping self-efficacy and adherence self-efficacy. The global score (0.92-0.94) and four factors (0.85-0.96) demonstrated good internal consistency. Correlations of convergent and discriminant validity yielded low to moderate associations with other measures of psychosocial functioning. The revised HCV-TSE instrument provides a reliable and valid global estimate of confidence in one's ability to engage in and adhere to HCV antiviral treatment. The four-factor structure suggests different types of efficacy beliefs may function during HCV treatment and should be explored further in relation to clinical outcomes.

The impact of HIV clinical pharmacists on HIV treatment outcomes: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Due to the rapid proliferation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment options, there is a need for health care providers with knowledge of antiretroviral therapy intricacies. In a HIV multidisciplinary care team, the HIV pharmacist is well-equipped to provide this expertise. We conducted a systematic review to assess the impact of HIV pharmacists on HIV clinical outcomes.

METHODS

We searched six electronic databases from January 1, 1980 to June 1, 2011 and included all quantitative studies that examined pharmacist's roles in the clinical care of HIV-positive adults. Primary outcomes were antiretroviral adherence, viral load, and CD(4) (+) cell count and secondary outcomes included health care utilization parameters, antiretroviral modifications, and other descriptive variables.

RESULTS

Thirty-two publications were included. Despite methodological limitation, the involvement of HIV pharmacists was associated with statistically significant adherence improvements and positive impact on viral suppression in the majority of studies.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review provides evidence of the beneficial impact of HIV pharmacists on HIV treatment outcomes and offers suggestions for future research.

Pharmacist counseling in a cohort of women with HIV and women at risk for HIV

BACKGROUND AND METHODS

Achieving high adherence to antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is challenging due to various system-related, medication-related, and patient-related factors. Community pharmacists can help patients resolve many medication-related issues that lead to poor adherence. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey nested within the Women's Interagency HIV Study was to describe characteristics of women who had received pharmacist medication counseling within the previous 6 months. The secondary objective was to determine whether HIV-positive women who received pharmacist counseling had better treatment outcomes, including self-reported adherence, CD4(+) cell counts, and HIV-1 viral loads.

RESULTS

Of the 783 eligible participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study who completed the survey, only 30% of participants reported receiving pharmacist counseling within the last 6 months. Factors independently associated with counseling included increased age (odds ratio [OR] 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.55), depression (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.25-2.45), and use of multiple pharmacies (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.15-2.37). Patients with higher educational attainment were less likely to report pharmacist counseling (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.48-0.98), while HIV status did not play a statistically significant role. HIV-positive participants who received pharmacist counseling were more likely to have optimal adherence (OR 1.23; 95% CI 0.70-2.18) and increased CD4(+) cell counts (+43 cells/mm(3), 95% CI 17.7-104.3) compared with those who had not received counseling, though these estimates did not achieve statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacist medication counseling rates are suboptimal in HIV-positive and at-risk women. Pharmacist counseling is an underutilized resource which may contribute to improved adherence and CD4(+) counts, though prospective studies should be conducted to explore this effect further.

Interventions to increase antiretroviral adherence in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of evaluation studies

The success of potent antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection is primarily determined by adherence. We systematically review the evidence of effectiveness of interventions to increase adherence to antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. We identified 27 relevant reports from 26 studies of behavioural, cognitive, biological, structural, and combination interventions done between 2003 and 2010. Despite study diversity and limitations, evidence suggests that treatment supporters, directly observed therapy, mobile-phone text messages, diary cards, and food rations can effectively increase adherence in sub-Saharan Africa. However, some interventions are unlikely to have large or lasting effects, and others are effective only in specific settings. These findings emphasise the need for more research, particularly for randomised controlled trials, to examine the effect of context and specific features of intervention content on effectiveness. Future work should assess intervention targeting and selection of interventions based on behavioural theories relevant to sub-Saharan Africa.

Matching social support to individual needs: a community-based intervention to improve HIV treatment adherence in a resource-poor setting

From December 2005 to April 2007, we enrolled 60 adults starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Lima, Peru to receive community-based accompaniment with supervised antiretrovirals (CASA), consisting of 12 months of DOT-HAART, as well as microfinance assistance and/or psychosocial support group according to individuals' need. We matched 60 controls from a neighboring district, and assessed final clinical and psychosocial outcomes at 24 months. CASA support was associated with higher rates of virologic suppression and lower mortality. A comprehensive, tailored adherence intervention in the form of community-based DOT-HAART and matched economic and psychosocial support is both feasible and effective for certain individuals in resource-poor settings.

Using qualitative synthesis to explore heterogeneity of complex interventions

BACKGROUND

Including qualitative evidence on patients' perspectives in systematic reviews of complex interventions may reveal reasons for variation in trial findings. This is particularly the case when the intervention is for a long-term disease, as management may rely heavily on the efforts of the patient. Inclusion though seldom happens, possibly because of methodological challenges, and when it does occur the different forms of evidence are often kept separate. To explore heterogeneity in trial findings, we tested a novel approach to integrate qualitative review evidence on patients' perspectives with evidence from a Cochrane systematic review.

METHODS

We used, as a framework for a matrix, evidence from a qualitative review on patients' perspectives on helping them manage their disease. We then logged in the matrix whether the interventions identified in a Cochrane review corresponded with the patient perspectives on how to help them. We then explored correspondence.The Cochrane review we used included 19 trials of interventions to improve adherence to therapy in HIV/AIDS patients. The qualitative review we used included 23 studies on HIV/AIDS patients' perspectives on adherence; it translated the themes identified across the studies into recommendations in how to help patients adhere.Both reviews assessed quality. In the qualitative review they found no difference in findings between the better quality studies and the weaker ones. In the Cochrane review they were unable to explore the impact of quality in subgroup analysis because so few studies were of good quality.

RESULTS

Matrix tabulation of interventions and patients' perspectives identified a range of priorities raised by people infected with HIV-1 that were not addressed in evaluated interventions. Tabulation of the more robust trials revealed that interventions that significantly improved adherence contained more components considered important by patients than interventions where no statistically significant effect was found.

CONCLUSIONS

This simple approach breaks new ground in cross tabulating qualitative evidence with the characteristics of trialled interventions. In doing so it tests the assumption that patients are more likely to adhere to interventions that match more closely with their concerns. The potential of this approach in exploring varying content and rates of success in trialled complex interventions deserves further evaluation.