Coping strategies for adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy among adult HIV patients attending at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia

Abstract

Adverse effects from antiretroviral therapy (ART) impact the quality of life, adherence to care and influence decisions about health care. There are evidence that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) prevalence and incidence in ART programs are much higher and has a wide range in manifestation. There is also no clear understanding of how people manage the adverse effects of ART. The individual taking medications which cause serious adverse effects may choose to stop or reduce the medications to relieve the adverse effects. Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess coping strategies for adverse effects of ART among adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients.