HIV/AIDS: Research and Palliative Care (Nov 2020)
Exploring Self-Management of Adults Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in North-West Ethiopia: Qualitative Study
Abstract
Habtam Areri, 1, 2 Amy Marshall, 1 Gillian Harvey 1 1Adelaide Nursing School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; 2School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 4412, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Habtam Areri Tel +251 910218513Email [email protected]: The changing nature of HIV from an acute to chronic illness requires adults living with HIV to self-manage. Self-management enables individuals with HIV to maintain physical health, medication adherence and live with HIV-related conditions. This study aimed to explore self-management experiences of adults living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia.Methods: A qualitative descriptive study framed by the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory was carried out to explore the self-management experience of adults living with HIV in Northwest Ethiopia. Eleven semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted. The recruitment involved participants who volunteered to be contacted during a preceding quantitative study. The interview data were coded inductively and subject to thematic analysis.Results: The main themes identified, each with a number of sub-themes, related to perceptions and experience of self-management, barriers and facilitators of self-management. Factors influencing self-management behaviour were inter-connected and particularly influenced by spiritual practices, low levels of income and experiences of stigma and discrimination.Conclusion: The study highlights barriers to self-management among individuals living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in a resource-constrained country. Interventions to address modifiable barriers and build on identified facilitators of self-management include working with the broader community to minimise HIV-related stigma and discrimination and engaging with religious leaders to tackle the observed conflict between spiritual practice and effective self-management behaviour.Keywords: self-management, barriers, facilitators, antiretroviral therapy, stigma ; discrimination
