Abstract

This study determines factors influencing poor adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among adolescents attending
ART Clinic at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in Masaka City, Central Uganda. A descriptive crosssectional
research design was used to carry out this study. Data checking and cleaning were done by the entire
research team under the direction of the researcher. Data were checked for completeness and consistency. Data were
entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS v.20. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify the
relationship between dependent and independent variables. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequency tables,
graphs, charts, P-value, and Odds ratios. 103 participants in ART were interviewed. Out of these, the majority
(61.2%) were aged 16-20, 56.3% were male, 63.1% were out of school, 76.7% were married and 66.0% were Baganda.
Out of 103 participants studied, the overall non-adherence level was (29)28.2%. The current study found an
association between age, gender, knowledge about adherence, distance to the health facility, health education about
adherence, waiting time at the health facility, and attitude of health workers with poor adherence. Additionally, pill
burden, over-experienced side effects, and having a reminder to take drugs were significantly associated with poor
adherence to drugs. The level of poor adherence to ART among adolescents living with HIV is still high. Predictors
of poor adherence include; age(13-15years), being male, having no knowledge about adherence, residing in rural areas, having no health education, residing far away from the health facility, long waiting hours, bad attitude of health workers, having pill burden, having no reminder to rake medication and previous experience of side effect