Acceptability of obtaining hair samples for assessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) exposure amongst alcohol drinking ART recipients in Tshwane, South Africa

To achieve the maximal therapeutic benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART), high adherence is required. In South Africa, ART recipients are usually counselled by their health care providers to stop drinking alcohol, as heavy alcohol use compromises ART adherence. Patients who continue drinking alco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS care 2018-12, Vol.30 (12), p.1498-1501
Main Authors: Kekwaletswe, C.T., Nkosi, S., Kitleli, N.B., Myers, B., Shuper, P., Parry, C.D.H., Morojele, N.K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceptability
Adherence
Adhesion
Adult
AIDS/HIV
Alcohol
alcohol consumption
Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects
Alcohol use
Alcohols
Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use
Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use
Antiretroviral agents
Antiretroviral drugs
Antiretroviral therapy
ART exposure
Art therapy
Blood tests
Content analysis
Data processing
Drinking behavior
Drug therapy
Exposure
Female
Focus Groups
Hair
hair samples
Health care
Health status
HIV Infections - drug therapy
HIV Infections - psychology
Humans
Male
Medical personnel
Medication Adherence - psychology
Medication Adherence - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Mixed gender
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Quality of Life
South Africa
Therapy
Vietnam
Witchcraft
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Summary:To achieve the maximal therapeutic benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART), high adherence is required. In South Africa, ART recipients are usually counselled by their health care providers to stop drinking alcohol, as heavy alcohol use compromises ART adherence. Patients who continue drinking alcohol tend to hide their alcohol-related adherence challenges from their health care providers. Objective measures of ART adherence/exposure may help to better identify drinkers who could benefit from ART adherence enhancement interventions. To evaluate the acceptability of collecting hair samples to objectively assess ART exposure among alcohol drinkers, we conducted four mixed-gender focus group discussions (FGDs) with alcohol drinking ART recipients at two ART sites in Tshwane, South Africa. Data were analysed using content analysis. ART recipients found hair sample testing for ART exposure to be novel and therefore expected that some ART recipients would initially be hesitant to provide a sample. Participants thought that the acceptability of hair sample collection could be enhanced by providing a full explanation of how the hair sample would be obtained and what the testing would entail. Participants also viewed hair sample testing as a viable and desirable alternative to blood sample testing for ART exposure. Some worries about the possible use of hair samples for witchcraft and the symbolic nature of hair were brought up, but these were not seen as insurmountable concerns. In conclusion, hair sample testing is a potentially acceptable method of assessing ART exposure amongst ART recipients who drink alcohol.
ISSN:0954-0121
1360-0451
DOI:10.1080/09540121.2018.1476662