Assessment of antiretroviral therapy knowledge and willingness of persons with HIV to support its uptake in Uganda

Figures & data

Table 2 Percentage of responses by people with HIV/AIDS to two antiretroviral knowledge questions after 18 months on antiretroviral therapy, Home-Based AIDS Care project, 2005 (n = 524)*

Specific knowledge about antiretroviral therapy	Responses (%)
Answers to question: what do ARV drugs do?
Kills HIV	3
Increases sickness	1
Cures AIDS	4
Improves health/strength/immune system	85
Slows the progression of HIV	44
Reduces opportunistic infections	41
Increases CD4 count	38
Decreases the level of virus in the body	42
Prolongs life of PWA	46
Kills people	1
Don’t know	1
Causes bad side effects	6
Answers to question: when should a person with HIV/AIDS start ARV?
When they are physically sick	11
As soon as they test positive	1
When they are too weak to continue their daily activities	12
When their CD4 count is < 250	74
Don’t know	1
Not all HIV-positive people need ARV	78
After improvement on antiretroviral therapy one should continue	93

* Note: The responses were spontaneous.

Abbreviations: ARV, antiretroviral therapy; AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; PWA, people with HIV/AIDS.

Table 1 Sociodemographic and background attributes of PWA after 18 months on antiretroviral therapy, Home-Based AIDS Care project, 2005

Background variables	All n (%)	Female n (%)	Male n (%)
	524 (100)	373 (%)	151 (%)
None	128 (25)	113 (31)	15 (10)
Primary	248 (48)	171 (47)	77 (52)
Postprimary	137 (27)	82 (22)	55 (38)
Catholic	221 (42)	155 (42)	66 (44)
Moslem	42 (8)	25 (7)	17 (11)
Pentecostal	80 (15)	57 (15)	21 (14)
Protestant	181 (35)	134 (36)	47 (31)
Marital status
Married	232 (45)	113 (30)	119 (80)
Not married	287 (55)	257 (70)	30 (20)
18–30	54 (10)	45 (12)	9 (6)
31–40	216 (41)	162 (43)	54 (36)
41–50	188 (36)	130 (35)	58 (38)
50+	66 (13)	36 (10)	30 (20)
At least once per week	159 (30)	94 (25)	65 (43)
Once a month	10 (21)	74 (20)	36 (24)
Rarely	254 (49)	204 (55)	50 (33)
Improved	413 (81)	287 (78)	126 (85)
Stayed same	98 (19)	83 (22)	23 (15)
Daily/several times per week	111 (21)	65 (18)	46 (31)
Once per week	69 (13)	49 (13)	20 (13)
Occasionally	295 (57)	218 (59)	77 (51)
Never	45 (9)	38 (10)	7 (5)
Farming	203 (39)	141 (38)	62 (44)
Wages	77 (16)	50 (14)	27 (19)
Dependent	91 (18)	80 (22)	11 (8)
Trade	136 (26)	95 (26)	41 (29)

Abbreviations: n, number; AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; PWA, people with human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS.

Table 3 Antiretroviral therapy messages communicated to community members by people with HIV/AIDS, comparing opinion leaders with nonopinion leaders

ARV messages communicated	OPLs n = 370 n (%)	Non-OPLs n = 152 n (%)	P value	OR
ARV is for those with CD4 < 250	192 (51)	61 (40)	0.019	1.6 (1.1–2.4)
You need an HIV test before ARV	189 (51)	54 (36)	0.002	1.9 (1.3–2.8)
ARV prolongs your life	42 (11)	6 (4)	0.679	0.9 (0.6–1.3)
Need to register with an AIDS service facility to access ARV	194 (52)	55 (36)	0.001	1.9 (1.3–2.9)
You need to be evaluated for ARV	144 (39)	40 (26)	0.008	1.8 (1.2–2.7)
Adherence to ARV is important	82 (22)	31 (20)	0.743	1.1 (0.7–1.8)
Not everyone with HIV needs antiretroviral therapy	68 (18)	19 (12)	0.135	1.6 (0.9–2.7)
ARV should not be shared with others	64 (17)	20 (13)	0.299	1.4 (0.8–2.4)
ARV does not cure HIV/AIDS	75 (20)	42 (28)	0.086	0.7 (0.4–1.0)
While on ARV, you remain infectious if you don’t use condoms	53 (14)	13 (9)	0.097	1.8 (0.9–3.4)
Once on ARV, you take it for life	58 (16)	31 (20)	0.240	0.7 (0.4–1.2)

Abbreviations: ARV, antiretroviral therapy; AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; PWA, people with HIV/AIDS; OPLs, opinion leaders; non-OPLs, nonopinion leaders; OR, odds ratio.