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. 2007 Mar;11(2):161-73.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-006-9133-3.

Assessing antiretroviral adherence via electronic drug monitoring and self-report: an examination of key methodological issues

Cynthia R Pearson  1 , Jane M Simoni, Peter Hoff, Ann E Kurth, Diane P Martin
Affiliations

Assessing antiretroviral adherence via electronic drug monitoring and self-report: an examination of key methodological issues

Cynthia R Pearson et al. AIDS Behav. 2007 Mar.

Abstract

We explored methodological issues related to antiretroviral adherence assessment, using 6 months of data collected in a completed intervention trial involving 136 low-income HIV-positive outpatients in the Bronx, NY. Findings suggest that operationalizing adherence as a continuous (versus dichotomous) variable and averaging adherence estimates over multiple assessment points (versus using only one) explains greater variance in HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL). Self-reported estimates provided during a phone interview accounted for similar variance in VL as EDM estimates (R (2) = .17 phone versus .18 EDM). Self-reported adherence was not associated with a standard social desirability measure, and no difference in the accuracy of self-report adherence was observed for assessment periods of 1-3 days. Self-reported poor adherence was more closely associated with EDM adherence estimates than self-reported moderate and high adherence. On average across assessment points, fewer than 4% of participants who reported taking a dose of an incorrect amount of medication.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Three-day antiretroviral adherence estimates based on self-report (SR) and electronic drug monitoring (EDM) among HIV-positive individuals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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