Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV Infected Individuals in Assiut Governorate, Egypt

Egypt is a HIV low prevalence country but between 2010 and 2019 newly infected cases have more than quadrupled, and the rise continues at an alarming pace. According to the WHO country profile in 2021, 65% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) know their status, there is no statistic on viral load suppression, or the level of adherence to treatment among those who are under care.

To achieve optimal results from Antiretroviral therapy (at least 95%), high levels of patient adherence to ART is essential. Therefore, enhancing ART coverage is a principal strategy to end HIV/AIDS.

Medication adherence, which can be defined as the extent to which a patient's medicine-taking behavior corresponds with agreed instructions from a health care provider, is essential for realizing the potential benefits of most medication-based treatment. Many patients, especially those with chronic diseases, experience difficulties in adhering to a recommended treatment plan. Medication non-adherence, with average rates of those affected being between 30 and 50%, is a major challenge in the real-life treatment of these patients .

Despite several advances in ART for human immunodeficiency virus in the last decades, non-adherence continues to be a critical phenomenon in the treatment of these patients. Not only short-term virological response will be poor, but low drug concentrations also dramatically accelerate development of drug-resistance. So, maintaining over 95% adherence level among the PLHIV in developing countries is a crucial issue to maintain viral suppression, to minimize HIV related morbidity and mortality.