Depression, social support and adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

The study investigated the relationships between depression, social support and adherence to ART, and how both social support and depression influence ART adherence. The study was conducted with a sample of 323 participants living with HIV/AIDS. Purposive sampling technique was used to enable the researcher collect data from the targeted population. Hypotheses i, ii and iii were tested using Pearson’s correlation coefficient to establish the relationships between the variables and multiple regression was used to test the fourth hypothesis to establish whether adherence was influenced by both social support and depression. The findings showed significant relationships between depression and ART adherence, social support and ART adherence and social support and depression. The findings also showed that adherence is significantly influenced by both depression and social support although other factors also play part. It was recommended that mental health services be integrated in routine HIV care to address depression among People Living with HIV in order to improve ART adherence and subsequently their mental health in order for help them live a quality life and contribute ably to their communities.