Impacts of intimate partner violence and sexual abuse on antiretroviral adherence among adolescents living with HIV in South Africa.
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We are failing to reach 95-95-95 for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). Sexual abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) may impact antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, with high rates of 17.4 and 29.7%, respectively, across the southern sub-Saharan African region. However, evidence on their associations with adolescent ART adherence remains limited, with only three cross-sectional studies globally. DESIGN: A prospective cohort of ALHIV (sample N = 980, 55% female individuals, baseline mean age 13.6 years) were recruited from 53 health facilities in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province and responded to a structured questionnaire at 18-month and 36-month follow-up (2015-2016, 2017-2018). METHODS: A repeated-measures random effects model assessed multivariable associations of self-reported sexual abuse and IPV with past-week ART adherence, controlling for individual, socioeconomic, and HIV-related factors. Past-week adherence was defined based on currently taking ART and not having missed any doses in the past 7 days (including weekends). We further fitted a moderation model by sex. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of adolescents reported consistent ART adherence at both time points. Exposure to IPV was associated with lower odds of self-reported ART adherence (aOR 0.39, 95% CI 0.21-0.72, P = 0.003), as was sexual abuse (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.29-0.99, P = 0.048). The marginal predicted probability of ART adherence for adolescents with no exposure to either IPV or sexual abuse was 72% (95% CI 70-74%) compared with 38% (95% CI 20-56%) for adolescents with exposure to both IPV and sexual abuse. Moderation results showed similar associations between sexual violence and ART adherence by sex. CONCLUSION: Sexual violence prevention and postviolence care may be essential components of supporting adolescent ART adherence. Integration of HIV and violence prevention services will require accessible services and simple referral systems.
Date Issued
2023-03-01
Date Acceptance
2022-11-18
Citation
AIDS, 2023, 37 (3), pp.503-511
ISSN
0269-9370
Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Start Page
503
End Page
511
Journal / Book Title
AIDS
Volume
37
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36695360
PII: 00002030-202303010-00013
Subjects
Humans
Adolescent
Female
Male
HIV Infections
Risk Factors
South Africa
Cross-Sectional Studies
Prospective Studies
Sex Offenses
Intimate Partner Violence
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Sexual Partners
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2023-03-01