Does Type of Social Support Influence Medication Adherence Among South African Adolescents Living With HIV? A Quantitative Analysis of Pilot Data.
Vincenzo F Malo, Tiarney D Ritchwood, Michael V Relf and 1 others
PMID 35034084WHAT IT FOUND
Higher emotional and informational support was associated with greater treatment adherence confidence among 104 South African adolescents living with HIV, but not with viral load, CD4 count, or clinic attendance.
Key findings
01Emotional and informational support showed small positive associations with treatment adherence confidence.
02No significant associations were found between social support and last recorded CD4 count, viral load, or clinic appointment attendance in the past year.
03Actual medication adherence was not measured; the study used treatment adherence self-efficacy as a proxy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a small pilot analysis of 104 adolescents recruited by convenience sampling from one clinic area, so it cannot be generalised broadly. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that social support caused better adherence confidence or better HIV outcomes. Actual medication adherence was not measured; treatment adherence self-efficacy was used as a proxy. Emotional and informational support were highly correlated, so their individual contributions are difficult to separate. The data were collected in 2016, which may not reflect current HIV care contexts. The study did not test an intervention, so it provides no evidence about what nurses should do to improve outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors report no real or perceived vested interests related to this article. The article is marked as supported by NIH extramural research, but no sponsor role is described.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that providing emotional or informational support will improve HIV medication adherence, viral load, CD4 count, or clinic attendance. This was a small cross-sectional pilot, actual medication adherence was not measured, and social support was linked only to adherence confidence, not to clinical outcomes.