Oral

Antiretrovial therapy has become an important treatment method for persons who are HIV positive. However, an important consideration is the cost of these drugs and providing access to all persons regardless of the economic situation. In this session, participants will learn about how to balance access with cost and how to improve adherence to ART given the cost of such treatments. The focus of the first presentation will be HIV medication adherence in resource-poor settings. Information about the lifetime costs and benefits of three different strategies for managing HAART therapy will be examined. Presentation two will focus on how qualitative research can provide new information regarding HIV medication adherence. In presentation three, the unique barriers to HIV medication adherence among African adolescents will be discussed. The final presentations will provide information about the time from FDA drug approval to patent expiration of ARVs and other NMEs in the US.

Session Objectives: 1. Identify factors associated with medication adherence as well as the barriers for medication adherence among diverse, vulnerable populations. 2. Articulate the advantages and disadvantages of using CD4 monitoring in the management of HIV in resource-poor settings. 3. Describe the ramifications of drug regulatory policies in the approval of ARVs.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing