Economic vulnerability and non-initiation of antiretroviral therapy in India: a qualitative study.
AIDS Care
; 33(4): 423-427, 2021 04.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31928214
ABSTRACT
In India, many people living with HIV (PLHIV) do not successfully initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) after diagnosis. We conducted a clinic-based qualitative study at the Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to explore factors that influence ART non-initiation. We interviewed 22 men and 15 women; median age was 42 (IQR, 36-48) and median CD4+ was 395 (IQR, 227-601). Participants were distrustful of HIV care freely available at nearby government facilities. Faced with the perceived need to access the private sector and therefore pay for medications and transportation costs, non-initiators with high CD4+ counts often decided to postpone ART until they experienced symptoms whereas non-initiators with low CD4+ counts often started ART but defaulted quickly after experiencing financial stressors or side effects. Improving perceptions of quality of care in the public sector, encouraging safe serostatus disclosure to facilitate stronger social support, and alleviating economic hardship may be important in encouraging ART initiation in India.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções por HIV
/
Fármacos Anti-HIV
/
Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade
Tipo de estudo:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Qualitative_research
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
AIDS Care
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article