The relationship of disease severity, health beliefs and medication adherence among HIV patients

The objective was to investigate the relationship of disease severity, heal th beliefs and medication adherence among HIV/AIDS patients. A survey was a dministered to 72 patients in three different stages of HIV/AIDS (CDC clini cal categories A, B, C). Multivariate analyses revealed that there were no significant differences in patients' perceptions of the severity of HIV/AID S or perceptions of the benefits and barriers for the treatment across thre e disease stages. However, the most severely ill patients (tn stage C) perc eived a higher risk of complications if they did not take their medicine as prescribed compared to asymptomatic patients (stage A) (p = 0.01). Also, p atients in stages B and C were more adherent to their medications compared to patients in stage A (p = 0. 007). Finally, perceived susceptibility inac tion was positively related to medication adherence (p = 0. 005) and diffic ulty in following doctors' instructions was negatively related to patients' medication adherence (p = 0. 009). In conclusion, patients' illness experi ences are associated with their beliefs about the chances of developing com plications if they do not adhere to their medications. Patients who have ex perienced more complications perceive a stronger relationship between medic ation non-adherence and AIDS-related complications, and are also more adher ent to their medication regimen when compared to patients with no prior com plications.