Coping and ART adherence self-efficacy among people living with HIV in South Carolina

ABSTRACT

In the US, more than 50% of new HIV infections are reported in southern states. Besides, the incidence rate of HIV in South Carolina is 17 per 100,000 population. Regardless of improved quality of life with the advent of ART, coping with stressors may influence ART adherence self-efficacy. This study assessed the association between coping strategies and ART adherence self-efficacy among people living with HIV (PLWH) in South Carolina. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 402 PLWH attending a large immunology center in South Carolina in 2018. Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression models were used to determine the association between coping strategies and ART adherence self-efficacy. Alcohol or drug use was negatively associated with ART adherence self-efficacy (b = −0.170, 95% CI [−0.255, −0.085], p = 0.0001). Religiosity was positively associated with ART adherence self-efficacy (b =  0.101, 95% CI [0.017, 0.185], p =  0.019). Overall coping and self-motivation were not significantly associated with ART adherence self-efficacy. Accentuating religiosity and attenuating alcohol or drug use as a means of coping may improve ART adherence self-efficacy among PLWH.

KEYWORDS:

• PLWH
• coping
• antiretroviral medication adherence
• self-efficacy

Acknowledgement

The South Carolina SmartState Program® at USC funded this study. The National Institute of Mental Health Award Number K01MH115794 supported MJB. The authors are entirely responsible for the presented content in the paper. The South Carolina SmartState® program at USC and the National Institute of Mental Health does not necessarily officially represent their views.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declarations

Ethics approval

The institutional review board (IRB) approved the study.

Consent

An informed consent was obtained from the participants at the beginning of the study.

Data and material availability

The data for this study are available from Dr. Xiaoming Li ([email protected]) and can be provided on request from Dr. Xiaoming.

Code availability

The codes supporting the results of the study are available from the correspondence author (AK) upon a reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by the “South Carolina SmartState Center for Health Care Quality”.