Health Literacy and Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infected Youth
type: CreativeWork
description: Poor health literacy has been associated with a range of negative health outcomes and few studies have assessed the relationship between adolescent health literacy and health outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected adults with lower health literacy have suboptimal treatment adherence, but this association has not be examined in the adolescent HIV-infected population. Research incorporating more comprehensive models of health literacy including beliefs about HIV treatment may help to better define the connection between health literacy and adherence to HIV treatment. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between health literacy, literacy, beliefs about medications, media use and adherence to antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected adolescents. Methods: Using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, a convenience sample of 50 HIV-infected youth was recruited from four HIV clinical settings. The primary outcome was adherence to antiretroviral treatment and was measured with 3- day self reported adherence estimates. Instruments to measure the predictor variables of interest were the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), Beliefs about Medication Scale (BAMS), Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-teen version (REALM-teen), and media use was evaluated with a brief investigator-developed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were computed with the level of significance set to 0.05. Results: The sample population included 50 participants, ages 13-24 years (median age=20.4 years) either perinatally (n=40) or behaviorally (n=10) infected. The median and mean +SD self reported adherence estimates were 100% (range 0-100) and 86.0% + 26.92, respectively. Adherence estimates were highly correlated with HIV-viral load (Spearman's rho=-0.615, p=0.000). Adequate levels of health literacy were demonstrated in 80.0% (n=40) of youth. Below grade level r…
abstract: Poor health literacy has been associated with a range of negative health outcomes and few studies have assessed the relationship between adolescent health literacy and health outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected adults with lower health literacy have suboptimal treatment adherence, but this association has not be examined in the adolescent HIV-infected population. Research incorporating more comprehensive models of health literacy including beliefs about HIV treatment may help to better define the connection between health literacy and adherence to HIV treatment. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between health literacy, literacy, beliefs about medications, media use and adherence to antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected adolescents. Methods: Using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, a convenience sample of 50 HIV-infected youth was recruited from four HIV clinical settings. The primary outcome was adherence to antiretroviral treatment and was measured with 3- day self reported adherence estimates. Instruments to measure the predictor variables of interest were the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), Beliefs about Medication Scale (BAMS), Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-teen version (REALM-teen), and media use was evaluated with a brief investigator-developed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were computed with the level of significance set to 0.05. Results: The sample population included 50 participants, ages 13-24 years (median age=20.4 years) either perinatally (n=40) or behaviorally (n=10) infected. The median and mean +SD self reported adherence estimates were 100% (range 0-100) and 86.0% + 26.92, respectively. Adherence estimates were highly correlated with HIV-viral load (Spearman's rho=-0.615, p=0.000). Adequate levels of health literacy were demonstrated in 80.0% (n=40) of youth. Below grade level r…
author: Navarra, Ann-Margaret
language: English
keywords: Psychology, Nursing, HIV (Viruses)--Patients, Youth--Health and hygiene, Health literacy, Antiretroviral agents
date published: 2011
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:44:14Z
provider: Columbia University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Columbia University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7916/D8JQ170H