South Africa Jean Nachega MHS at the School of Public Health, Global Disease Epidemiology and Control
I plan to investigate short-term (during pregnancy) and long-term (post-partum) antiretroviral therapy adherence in HIV-infected women attending a peri-urban township HIV clinic and who are enrolled in a private sector HIV/AIDS management program in Cape Town, South Africa. Three groups of women in these settings will be investigated: 1) patients who initiated long-term ART when pregnant; 2) patients who were found pregnant while already on ART; 3) patients who received short-term prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) then started ART later. A clinical trial will be conducted to evaluate adherence through pharmacy refill (Nachega et al. Ann Intern Med 2007) and pill count. Risk factors for poor adherence will be assessed using a standardized validated questionnaire. By identifying the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy and the barriers to adherence among pregnant and post-partum women in Cape Town, appropriate interventions can be designed to successfully target the control of HIV within this specific population. Successful HIV control interventions targeting pregnant and post-partum women have the potential to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, drug resistance, disease progression, and death (Nachega & Mills, Therapy 2007). The findings from this study will be contextualized to the general HIV-infected population (male vs. female and private vs. public sectors).
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Sarah Wampold
