Adherence to Option B+ and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women on PMTCT Services at Public Health Facilities of East Shawa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Background: Anti-retroviral therapy has made a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality related to HIV/AIDS. However, it cannot be fully realized without addressing barriers related to retention in care and medication adherence.

Methods and materials: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was implemented to select pregnant women on option B+ anti-retroviral treatment (ART). The collected data was cleaned and entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS Version 21 for analysis. Multiple logistic regression models were used to indicate the association between variables.

Results: The overall drug adherence of pregnant women on ART medications was 82.6%. The study showed that participants educational status, AOR 4.54 (95% CI; 1.72-11.95), participants status disclosure 2.61 (95% CI; 1.01-6.71), social and financial support to the participants AOR 2.76 (95% CI; 1.17-6.51), counseling on the benefit AOR 2.9 (95% CI; 1.27-6.63), were all positively and significantly associated with adherence to option B+ treatment while experience of drug side effect AOR 0.24 (95% CI; 0.1-0.6), and fear of stigma and discrimination AOR 15.79 (95% CI; 4.64-53.67), was negatively associated with adherence to option B+ treatment.

Conclusion: Educational status, counseling on health benefit of treatment for the fetus and the mothers, social and financial support favors adherence, fear of stigma and discrimination and drug side effects effect negatively affect adherence to option B+. The study recommends collaborative work among patients, healthcare professionals, and the public to enhance ART adherence.

Author(s): Mihratu Tarekegn Lencha

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