Abongomera G, Cook A, Musiime V, Chabala C, Lamorde M, Abach J, Thomason M, Mulenga V, Kekitiinwa A, Colebunders R, Kityo C, Walker A S, Gibb D M
Joint Clinical Research Centre, Gulu, Uganda.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
AIDS Behav. 2017 Feb;21(2):441-449. doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1582-8.
A high level of adherence to antiretroviral treatment is essential for optimal clinical outcomes in HIV infection, but measuring adherence is difficult. We investigated whether responses to a questionnaire eliciting caregiver beliefs in medicines were associated with adherence of their child (median age 2.8 years), and whether this in turn was associated with viral suppression. We used the validated beliefs in medicine questionnaire (BMQ) to measure caregiver beliefs, and medication event monitoring system caps to measure adherence. We found significant associations between BMQ scores and adherence, and between adherence and viral suppression. Among children initiating Antiretroviral therapy (ART), we also found significant associations between BMQ 'necessity' scores, and BMQ 'necessity-concerns' scores, and later viral suppression. This suggests that the BMQ may be a valuable tool when used alongside other adherence measures, and that it remains important to keep caregivers well informed about the long-term necessity of their child's ART.
高度坚持抗逆转录病毒治疗对于HIV感染患者获得最佳临床疗效至关重要，但测量治疗依从性却很困难。我们调查了一份关于照顾者对药物信念的问卷回答是否与他们孩子（中位年龄2.8岁）的治疗依从性相关，以及这是否进而与病毒抑制相关。我们使用经过验证的药物信念问卷（BMQ）来测量照顾者的信念，并使用药物事件监测系统瓶盖来测量治疗依从性。我们发现BMQ得分与治疗依从性之间、治疗依从性与病毒抑制之间存在显著关联。在开始抗逆转录病毒治疗（ART）的儿童中，我们还发现BMQ“必要性”得分、BMQ“必要性-担忧”得分与后期病毒抑制之间存在显著关联。这表明，当与其他依从性测量方法一起使用时，BMQ可能是一个有价值的工具，并且让照顾者充分了解其孩子ART治疗的长期必要性仍然很重要。
