Patient Readiness to Adhere to HAART

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Abstract
Objectives: to determine 1) whether patients’ statements of readiness to take HAART predicted adherence and 2) whether previous experience with HAART enabled patients to better predict adherence. Method: Thirty-nine patients (24 naïve to HAART and 15 reinitiating HAART after a hiatus of >6 months) indicated readiness to take HAART on a Likert scale and a visual analog scale (VAS). Adherence was measured by prescription renewals. Results: Participants were 72% male; 62% African/American; 23% Anglo-White, and 13% Hispanic. Patients considered themselves quite ready to initiate therapy on both scales. Adherence for 5 months ranged from 24% to 100%; mean = 68%; median = 78%. Adherence was not associated with readiness as measured by the Likert scale (F = .15, p = .86) or the VAS (r = -.078, p = .64). VAS readiness scores did not correlate with adherence for naïve (r = -.16; p = .47) or experienced (r = .09; p = .76) patients. Conclusions: Patients’ statements of readiness to take HAART do not predict their adherence.