Adherence is difficult for some people because of the psychological aspects. How would you help a client with taking medication?

(from Brooke Patterson, Pharmacy Practice Residency Director & HIV Clinical Specialist, Kansas City Free Health Clinic)

Many of us have learned more about taking medication, managing side effects, dealing with the stress and the emotional impact of taking meds from other people living with HIV who are taking meds than from medical staff. This is not to criticize medical staff. They do a wonderful job except that they do not have a whole lot of time with the patient. Therefore, they often don’t know what it’s like to be on this kind of a medication regimen.

I think that one of the best things one can do is connect that person to peer support. It’s amazing the strategies that people with HIV develop to manage side effects, to remember to take their meds, to deal with the emotional impact. When they are in a group of peers, they actually share all these stories, all these strategies and their concerns, their worries, their fears. That alone can go a long way in supporting someone who is having trouble taking meds.

For more about adherence and resistance, listen to the Webcast HIV Resistance: The Intersection between Treatment and Prevention

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