Standard of Care for Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence and Retention in Care from the Perspective of Care Providers Attending the 5th International Conference on HIV Treatment Adherence

Abstract

Objective: To characterize standard clinical care for antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and retention in HIV-care support strategies among care providers attending the 2010 5th International Conference on HIV Treatment Adherence. Methods: A brief survey was included in conference packets, covering adherence monitoring and support strategies and retention in care strategies used in standard clinical care. Results: A total of 51 attendees returned surveys, representing clinical care provided to over 25 000 patients. Common adherence support strategies used included individual/group counseling, case management/systems navigation, and pillbox organizers. Common retention strategies were transportation assistance, reminder calls, and system navigation support. Conclusions: This small sample, likely representative of higher end quality adherence and retention care, suggests that strategies for monitoring/promoting these behaviors are well-recognized as important and diversely addressed. With most respondents feeling that improvements are needed, the potential for collaborative efforts between practice and research communities that emphasize practice-based evidence and better dissemination and implementation of research are needed.