Pilot controlled trial of the adherence readiness program: an intervention to assess and sustain HIV antiretroviral adherence readiness.

To pilot the adherence readiness program, 60 patients planning to start HIV antiretrovirals were assigned to usual care (n = 31) or the intervention (n = 29), of whom 54 started antiretrovirals and were followed for up to 24 weeks. At week 24, the intervention had a large effect (50.0 % vs. 16.7 %, d = 0.75) on optimal dose-timing (85+ % doses taken on time) and small effect (54.2 % vs. 43.3 %, d = 0.22) on optimal dose-taking (85+ % doses taken) electronically monitored adherence, and medium effect on undetectable viral load (62 % 0.5 % vs. 43.4 %, d = 0.41), compared to usual care. These intervention benefits on adherence and viral suppression warrant further investigation.