PREPARING PLHIV FOR ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY
Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment: How it affects a person’s ability to live with HIV/AIDS

·         ARV treatment is a long-term (life-long) treatment for HIV infection.
·         Before ARV treatment became readily available here, many people previously thought that being HIV-positive was a death sentence.  When people have ARV treatment, they must adapt to living with HIV rather than dying from AIDS.  In this case, they live with a chronic condition, and through the use of the medication, can enjoy a healthier quality of life.

Preparing PLHIV for ARV treatment

·          ARV is a complex treatment with multiple medications, and once therapy is started, treatment is long-term.  It is therefore extremely important for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) to be properly assessed and prepared for this treatment.

·         The initial medical assessment for PLHIV forms the basis for the healthcare provider to set up a successful treatment adherence plan. PLHIV should expect that during the assessment, the healthcare provider should aim to learn as much as possible about his/her health and psychological background.

·         The initial assessment should also include the following:  The provision by the PLHIV of a detailed medical history to the healthcare provider, so that he/she could learn about the PLHIV’s health, including past illnesses, opportunistic infections, hospitalizations, mental health status (depression, dementia, substance abuse), alcohol, drugs, prior use of ARV and other medication. The PLHIV’s beliefs and attitudes about HIV and treatment, sources of social support; the PLHIV’s current financial situation and identifying potential reasons why he/she may not stick to the treatment regimen are also very important considerations.

Why is it important for PLHIV to adhere to treatment?

·         If ARV treatment is used correctly, it can improve a person’s health and quality of life, and enable them to live for a long time.

·         If adherence is very good, the amount of HIV in a person’s body will reduce very quickly after a few weeks or months.  This allows their immune system to start to recover, so that illness is reduced and health regained.

·         A very high level of adherence (at least 95 per cent) is necessary for ARV treatment to work effectively.  Missing even a few doses of drugs, or failure to take them exactly on time, can cause treatment to fail, and opportunistic to rebound, or worse yet – the development of drug resistance, which means that the treatment you are taking will no longer work for you.  In such a case, you will have to be taken off the particular treatment  (Antiretroviral therapy) and placed on second-line treatment at a later date.

·         Second-line treatment is much more costly than the first-line treatment, and one of the things to be considered is how your body will react to it, depending on your nutritional status, among other things.

The foregoing information was brought to you in association with the Caribbean Regional Network + (CRN+).

POSTPONEMENT OF THE HIV/AIDS MAILBOX ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS COMPETITION

Dear Readers,

We wish to announce that the deadline for our Assertiveness Skills competition, inviting readers to attempt and an ending to the story, ‘A day they will always remember’, has been postponed.

This is in order to allow our young people who have been busy preparing for end-of-term tests to participate.

In the meantime, we wish to thank all those persons who have already submitted entries, and urge others to do likewise as soon as possible.

The story can be found in our June 13 and 20, 2010 issues of the Sunday Pepperpot. Please send your entries to: HIV/AIDS Mailbox, Guyana Chronicle, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, or by   email to:  waronhiv@yahoo.com

Good luck

Shirla