Work-related barriers and facilitators to antiretroviral therapy adherence in persons living with HIV infection

A retrospective study on side effects of first-line antiretroviral drugs on HIV patients based on 1A, 2A, and 5A regimen records at Zomba Central Hospital, Malawi

AIDS is an incurable disease that is common in Africa. Patients with HIV/AIDS having a CD4 count of less than 240 are put on life prolonging ARV drugs. The ARVs have serious side effects on some patients which may be handled by treating them or switching patient's drug to one with no or less serious side effects. However, before doing this, more understanding of the circumstances that lead to a side effect is vital. We use statistical analyses to link side effects of 1A, 2A, and 5A treatment regimens to the patient's social and demographic characteristics based on hospital data records. A retrospective review of patients' master cards (2011-2014) was done to assess adverse effects associated with different ARV regimens. Out of the 901 patients that showed side effects, 65.37% were females aged 31-40 and 34.63% were males. Comparatively, 1A regimen showed more side effects than 2A and 5A regimens. Age, gender and occupation correlated significantly with regimen symptoms (p< 0.05). Unlike men, women had the following extra side effects; cough, peripheral neuropathy and leg pains as compared to lipodystrophy. Our results show that old people (50years+) are less likely to get skin rash and other symptoms compared to lipodystrophy (RRR=0.973). Further, the probability of either having cough (0.0021, p< 0.05), or skin rash (0.0021, p< 0.05), as a side effect, on average, decreases as age increases with the same sex and weight. The probability of having peripheral neuropathy (0.0042, p< 0.01), however, increases with age. Knowledge of HIV patient's socio-demographics and the patient's regimen side effects can be utilised to appropriately manage severe ARV side effects. A therapy consideration that takes into account chemicals in ARV regimen responsible for specific side effects can be directed to patients with compatible socio-demographic characteristics.

Psychosocial and Health-Related Behavioral Outcomes of a Work Readiness HIV Peer Worker Training Program

Targeted work readiness training is an important approach to help people living with HIV (PLHIV) to overcome their unique barriers to work, while addressing social determinants of health needs. This study assesses the psychosocial impacts of a work readiness training and internship program among HIV peer workers in New York City. From 2014 through 2018, 137 PLHIV completed the training program, and 55 individuals completed both the training and the six-month peer internship. Depression, HIV internalized stigma, self-esteem, HIV medication adherence, patient self-advocacy, and safer sex communication apprehension were used as outcome measures. Paired t-tests were performed to determine if significant score changes occurred at the individual level before and after each training. Our results show that participating in the peer worker training program significantly decreased depression and internalized HIV stigma, and significantly increased self-esteem, medication adherence, and patient self-advocacy. The study underscores that peer worker training programs are important tools to improve not only the work readiness of PLHIV, but also psychosocial and health outcomes. Implications for HIV service providers and stakeholders are discussed.

People Living with HIV and AIDS: Experiences towards Antiretroviral Therapy, Paradigm Changes, Coping, Stigma, and Discrimination-A Grounded Theory Study

BACKGROUND

The experiences in coping with HIV/AIDS from people living with HIV (PLWH) in Austria, Munich, and Berlin regarding adherence, antiretroviral therapy (ART), stigmatization, and discrimination were the main focus of this study. Therapy adherence is the cornerstone for PLWH to reduce disease progression and increase life expectancy combined with a high quality of life. The experience of stigmatization and discrimination in different life situations and settings is still experienced today.

AIMS

We aimed to examine the subjective perspective of PLWH concerning living with, coping with, and managing HIV/AIDS in daily life.

METHODS

Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) was used. Data collection was conducted with semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 25 participants. Data analysis was performed in three steps, open, axial, and selective coding.

RESULTS

Five categories emerged, which included the following: (1) fast coping with diagnosis, (2) psychosocial burden due to HIV, (3) ART as a necessity, (4) building trust in HIV disclosure, (5) stigmatization and discrimination are still existing.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it can be said that it is not the disease itself that causes the greatest stress, but the process of coping with the diagnosis. Therapy, as well as lifelong adherence, is hardly worth mentioning today. Much more significant is currently still the burden of discrimination and stigmatization.

A Scoping Review of Employment and HIV

Employment is a social determinant of health that is important for understanding health behaviors, health outcomes and HIV transmission among people living with HIV. This study is a scoping review of the literature that addresses (a) the relationship between employment and the HIV continuum of care, (b) determinants of employment among PLWH and (c) experiences with employment. We searched two databases, PubMed and Embase, and identified a total of 5622 articles that were subjected to title and abstract review. Of these, 5387 were excluded, leaving 235 articles for full-text review. A total of 66 articles met inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The literature suggests that employment status is positively associated with HIV testing, linkage to HIV care, retention in HIV care, and HIV medication adherence. Guided by a social-ecological framework, we identified determinants of employment at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy levels that are amenable to public health intervention. Experiences with employment, including barriers, facilitators, advantages, disadvantages, and needs, provide additional insight for future research and programs.

Supporting choices about HIV disclosure in the workplace: A cross-Canada survey of strategies

BACKGROUND:

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often make highly personal decisions about whether or not to disclose their HIV status in the workplace.

OBJECTIVE:

We aimed to determine current practices that support people living with HIV to make workplace disclosure decisions and to understand factors that affect disclosure decision-making.

METHODS:

Ninety-four people who provide health, social and peer-based services responded to an on-line survey about their experiences supporting workplace disclosure decisions of employees living with HIV.

RESULTS:

Respondents identified a range of strategies to support workplace disclosure decision-making. One-third of respondents were only a little or not confident in their abilities to support people in making disclosure decisions and 32% expressed little or no confidence in the resources available. Respondents working at HIV-specific organizations, as compared to respondents not working at those organizations, were more confident supporting people with disclosure decisions and in available resources, p < .05. Perceived barriers to disclosure decisions included stigma, lack of knowledge, and personal factors. Supports for decision-making resided within personal, workplace and societal contexts.

CONCLUSIONS:

The study provides important understanding about the complexity of disclosure decision-making and strategies that people living with HIV can use to address this complex issue.

Work-related stigma and disclosure: A daily challenge for people living with HIV

BACKGROUND

Stigma and disclosure are important work-related issues for people living with HIV (PLWH). To gain better understanding and improve the position of PLWH in the labor market, further insight in these issues is needed.

OBJECTIVE

This study reviews the scientific evidence related to work-related stigma and disclosure.

METHODS

A sensitive literature search was performed in the databases of Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Cinahl and Psychinfo for articles published between 1996 and 2016. All studies on PLWH in western countries and investigating disclosure or stigma in relation to work were included.

RESULTS

Of the 866 identified studies, 19 met the inclusion criteria: 4 addressed both disclosure and stigma (2 quantitative), 9 addressed only disclosure (4 quantitative) and 7 studies addressed only stigma (4 quantitative).

CONCLUSION

This review provides a unique overview of the research on work-related disclosure and stigma, which will enable health care providers to support PWLH to make well-considered decisions. However, the available literature was heterogeneous and in most studies the topics of our interest were secondary outcomes and provided only basic insight.

Ability to Work and Employment Rates in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1-Infected Individuals Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study

Background.  Limited data exist on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals' ability to work after receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). We aimed to investigate predictors of regaining full ability to work at 1 year after starting cART. Methods.  Antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected individuals <60 years who started cART from January 1998 through December 2012 within the framework of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study were analyzed. Inability to work was defined as a medical judgment of the patient's ability to work as 0%. Results.  Of 5800 subjects, 4382 (75.6%) were fully able to work, 471 (8.1%) able to work part time, and 947 (16.3%) were unable to work at baseline. Of the 947 patients unable to work, 439 (46.3%) were able to work either full time or part time at 1 year of treatment. Predictors of recovering full ability to work were non-white ethnicity (odds ratio [OR], 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-3.54), higher education (OR, 4.03; 95% CI, 2.47-7.48), and achieving HIV-ribonucleic acid <50 copies/mL (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.20-2.80). Older age (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, .42-.72, per 10 years older) and psychiatric disorders (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, .13-.47) were associated with lower odds of ability to work. Recovering full ability to work at 1 year increased from 24.0% in 1998-2001 to 41.2% in 2009-2012, but the employment rates did not increase. Conclusions.  Regaining full ability to work depends primarily on achieving viral suppression, absence of psychiatric comorbidity, and favorable psychosocial factors. The discrepancy between patients' ability to work and employment rates indicates barriers to reintegration of persons infected with HIV.

HIV disclosure in the workplace

OBJECTIVES

As HIV is currently a chronic and manageable disease, an increasing amount of people living with HIV (PLHIV) are (again) active on the labour market. Since research on this topic is scarce, this study aimed to explore experiences of PLHIV in the workplace, especially concerning disclosure and adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

METHODS

A questionnaire was developed and validated in collaboration with Sensoa (Flemish expertise centre for sexual health) and participants were recruited using flyers and announcements on websites.

RESULTS

A total of 54 PLHIV completed the questionnaire, among whom 50 (92·6%) males. Half of the participants did not disclose their HIV status in the workplace, mostly due to being afraid of social or professional consequences. Those who disclosed, reported no changes in the workplace or even reported receiving more empathy. A minority of participants have to take antiretroviral medication at work and they reported no particular problems related to medication intake.

CONCLUSION

Despite improved solidarity and information campaigns, many PLHIV still do not disclose their HIV status in the workplace, most frequently due to fear for discrimination. More actions are warranted, as well as addressing possible self-stigma. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in the workplace posed little or no problems.