HIV-INFECTED WOMENS DECISIONS TO TAKE ANTIRETROVIRALS

Despite the potential benefits of antiretrovirals, HIV-infected women may not be accepting or adhering to recommended drug therapies. To hel p women make informed decisions surrounding antiretroviral therapy, he alth care professionals need insight into how HIV-infected women decid e to take or not to rake antiretroviral drugs. The purpose of this stu dy was to describe the influences affecting decisions made by women in the southern United States to accept and adhere to antiretroviral the rapy. Focus group data with subsequent dimensional analysis were used to discover themes surrounding antiretroviral decisions among 22 women in two predominantly rural, southeastern states. The focus groups inc luded some women who were currently taking antiretrovirals, some who h ad taken them in the past, and some who had never taken them. The anal yses revealed four overarching themes that influenced women's decision s regarding antiretrovirals: health professionals, beliefs about antir etrovirals, side effects, and attitudes of peers and family.