Peer-reviewed article
Examining the relationship of social support and family cohesion on ART adherence among HIV-positive adolescents in southern Uganda: baseline findings
Christopher Damulira, Miriam N. Mukasa, William Byansi, Proscovia Nabunya, Apollo Kivumbi et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how family cohesion and social support affect whether HIV-positive adolescents in southern Uganda take their antiretroviral therapy (ART) as prescribed. Researchers collected baseline data from 702 adolescents across 39 clinics. The findings show that support from family members and caregivers is associated with better ART adherence, while support from classmates, teachers, and friends was not significant. The study suggests that strengthening family relationships may help improve treatment adherence among adolescents living with HIV.
Key points
- Family cohesion and social support from caregivers/family were significantly associated with self-reported ART adherence among HIV-infected adolescents
- Social support from classmates, teachers, and friends were not associated with ART adherence
- Study included 702 HIV-infected adolescents from 39 clinics in southern Uganda
- This is baseline data from a five-year randomized longitudinal clinical trial examining an asset-based social intervention
- Strengthening family relationships may be crucial for addressing ART adherence challenges among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa
Limitations
This report presents only baseline findings from a longitudinal study, so it does not yet demonstrate causal relationships or the impact of any intervention. The data relies on self-reports, which may be subject to reporting bias.
Abstract
Several studies in sub-Saharan Africa have linked social support to better ART (antiretroviral therapy) adherence among adults living with HIV. Less is known about the role of social support and family cohesion in ART adherence among children below 18 years. This paper focuses on HIV-infected adolescents as they transition through the vulnerable developmental stage of adolescence to examine the association between family cohesion and social support, and ART adherence in southern Uganda. We utilized baseline data from Suubi+Adherence study, a five-year randomized longitudinal clinical trial with the overall goal of examining the impact and cost associated with an innovative asset-based social intervention to increase adherence to HIV treatment for HIV-infected adolescents in Uganda. This study employed self-reports to measure social support, family cohesion and ART adherence to treatment from 702 participants in 39 clinics situated in southern Uganda. Regression results indicated that after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics that family cohesion and social support from caregivers/family were associated with self-reported adherence to ART among HIV-infected adolescents. Social support from classmates, teachers, and friends were not associated with ART adherence. Study results suggest that strengthening family relationships and promoting social support within families caring for adolescents living with HIV can be crucial in addressing ART adherence challenges among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Suubi+Adherence study - an innovative asset-based social intervention designed to increase adherence to HIV treatment
- Population
- HIV-infected adolescents (below 18 years) in southern Uganda
Key finding
Family cohesion was associated with self-reported ART adherence after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics
Damulira et al. · Prof. Fred M. Ssewamala (OpenAlex works) · 16 Feb 2019