Journal of Antivirals & Antiretrovirals
Open Access

Adolescents and young adults on first-line ART prefer a self-administered electronic questionnaire to assess ART adherence

2^nd International Conference on Retroviruses and Novel Drugs

June 30-July 01, 2016 Cape Town, South Africa

Kamban Hirasen, Denise Evans, Rebecca Berhanu, Rita Graber, Julia Turner, Lawrence Long and Matthew P Fox

1Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Right to Care, Johannesburg, South Africa
Departm

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Antivir Antiretrovir

Abstract :

Because many young South African�s have been exposed to mobile technology we set out to determine if a self-administered electronic questionnaire would be an acceptable approach to measure adherence to ART. Cross-sectional study among HIV positive adolescents and young adults (18-35 years) on first-line ART for >3 months at the Themba Lethu HIV Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa between 07/2015�01/2016. Participants were asked a series of questions to assess their preference for a self-administered electronic versus a counsellor/social worker administered paper-based questionnaire to measure adherence to ART. Of the 77 participants enrolled (14% refusal rate), 19 (25%) were male and the majority (88%) had been on ART for more than 12 months. 66% (51/77) reported good adherence, defined by a VAS score �90%. When using a five-level Likert scale, 80% (41/51) agreed or strongly agreed that they are comfortable using a Smartphone or tablet. 60% (46/77) reported that they preferred an electronic questionnaire on a Smartphone or tablet over a paper form and 68% (52/77) preferred a selfadministered questionnaire over an interview-administered one. Finally, 95% (38/40) of study participants who completed the adherence questionnaire on an electronic device reported that it was relatively easy to complete. Conversely, 52% (40/77) had concerns about confidentiality and that their responses would not be stored and transferred safely on an electronic device. In order for self-administered electronic questionnaires to be useful in routine clinic settings participants need to be reassured that their responses will be securely stored and transferred to maintain patient confidentiality.

Biography :

Email: khirasen@heroza.org