"I found that I was well and strong": Women's motivations for remaining on ART under Option B+ in Malawi

Most Malawian women who start ART under Option B+ are still in care three years later, a higher than average adherence rate for life-threatening chronic disease treatments, worldwide (50%). We asked 75 Malawian on ART their motivations for remaining in treatment, and what barriers they overcame. Foc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-06, Vol.13 (6), p.e0197854-e0197854
Main Authors: Phiri, Nozgechi, Haas, Andreas D, Msukwa, Malango T, Tenthani, Lyson, Keiser, Olivia, Tal, Kali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis
Anti-HIV Agents - pharmacology
Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use
Antiretroviral drugs
Biology and Life Sciences
Child
Children
Chronic illnesses
Clinical trials
Clinics
Counselors - statistics & numerical data
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
Drug dosages
Female
Focus groups
Global health
Health care
Health care facilities
Health counseling
Health facilities
HIV
HIV infections
HIV Infections - drug therapy
HIV Infections - psychology
HIV Infections - transmission
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical - prevention & control
Malawi
Medical diagnosis
Medical treatment
Medicine and Health Sciences
Methods
Motivation
People and Places
Prevention
Preventive medicine
Primary care
Public health
Retention
Rural Population - statistics & numerical data
Side effects
Text messaging
Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
Women's health
Womens health
Young Adult
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Summary:Most Malawian women who start ART under Option B+ are still in care three years later, a higher than average adherence rate for life-threatening chronic disease treatments, worldwide (50%). We asked 75 Malawian on ART their motivations for remaining in treatment, and what barriers they overcame. Focus groups and interviews included 75 women on ART for 6+ months, at 12 health facilities. Four main motivations for continuing ART emerged: 1) evidence that ART improved their own and their children's health; 2) strong desire to be healthy and keep their children healthy; 3) treatment was socially supported; 4) HIV/ART counselling effectively showed benefits of ART and told women what to expect. Women surmounted the following barriers: 1) stigma; 2) health care system; 3) economic; 4) side effects. Women stayed on ART because they believed it works. Future interventions should focus on emphasizing ART's effectiveness, along with other services they provide.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0197854