The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47621

Kate Berrien, MS, R. David Rebanal, MPH, and Michelle M. Morrow, MA. HIV Services, Bellevue Hospital, Room 12E12, 462 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, 212-562-4466, kberrien2001@hotmail.com

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy involves a complex set of health behaviors that must be maintained consistently over time, possibly indefinitely. Interventions aiming to promote adherence must be multi-dimensional and individualized. The Bellevue Treatment Support Program, an innovative health education model set in an urban public hospital-based virology clinic, serves a diverse, mostly low-income HIV-positive population, from the newly diagnosed to those infected for two decades. Now entering its fourth year, the program has served 200 clients and collected data about adherence behavior, barriers to adherence and the success of specific intervention techniques in promoting adherence. The presenter will summarize three years of data, covering factors shown to influence adherence, and assessment data about clients’ beliefs about their treatment. The presentation will describe the development of the 6 dimensions of the model: assessment, education, mastery of behavioral skills, advocacy, referral, and provision of support. This will include key educational components and a discussion of the process of curriculum development in an area which had not previously been the focus of health education interventions at the time this program began. Finally, this workshop will address the development and use of assessment and measurement tools based on the data, guidelines, and experience of an established program. This will a discussion of the challenges of providing measurable outcomes while there remains no gold standard for defining success in adherence. Examples of various methods to measure adherence, to assess for barriers, and to measure adherence support, and copies of specific tools, will be provided.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• Describe factors promoting and inhibiting adherence to antiretroviral therapy, including the role of substance abuse and mental illness the effect of treating these conditions, social support, and trust in the primary care provider.
• Identify key areas for adherence intervention.
• Develop assessment and measurement tools based on the guidelines of a program entering its fourth year.

Keywords: Adherence, Health Education Strategies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.