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A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial of a Nurse-Delivered Medication Adherence Intervention Among HIV-Positive Outpatients Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Beijing, China

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Abstract

We evaluated a nurse-delivered adherence intervention in a preliminary randomized controlled trial among 70 HIV-positive outpatients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Beijing, China. In both arms, participants received a 30-min educational session, a pillbox, and a referral to a peer support group. In the enhanced arm, participants could choose an electronic reminder device, three sessions of counseling either alone or with a treatment adherence partner, or both reminder and counseling. Survey assessments and blood draws occurred at baseline, post-intervention (13 weeks), and follow-up (25 weeks). Primary outcomes were 7-day and 30-day adherence assessed by self-report and electronic drug monitoring (EDM), and secondary outcomes were HIV-1 RNA viral load and CD4 count. The intervention was feasible and well received. It led to some improvement in self-reported and EDM-assessed adherence but not the biological outcomes. Providing counseling and facilitating the use of electronic reminders to patients initiating ART merits further investigation as a culturally viable means of promoting adherence in China.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by MH074364 and MH074364-S1 from the US National Institute of Mental Health (Simoni, PI). We acknowledge Bu Huang for her assistance in obtaining funding for the study and Wei Qu for coordinating the study on-site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, 3909 Stevens Way NE, Campus Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195-1525, USA

    Jane M. Simoni & David Huh

  2. Department of Family and Child Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Wei-Ti Chen

  3. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen & Cynthia Pearson

  4. Institute of Infectious Diseases, Capital Medical University, Ditan Hospital, Beijing, China

    Hongxin Zhao & Xin Wang

  5. School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Cheng-Shi Shiu

  6. Division of Treatment and Care, National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Beijing, China

    Fujie Zhang

Authors
  1. Jane M. Simoni
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  2. Wei-Ti Chen
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  3. David Huh
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  4. Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen
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  5. Cynthia Pearson
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  6. Hongxin Zhao
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  7. Cheng-Shi Shiu
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  8. Xin Wang
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  9. Fujie Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongxin Zhao.

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Simoni, J.M., Chen, WT., Huh, D. et al. A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial of a Nurse-Delivered Medication Adherence Intervention Among HIV-Positive Outpatients Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Beijing, China. AIDS Behav 15, 919–929 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9828-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9828-3

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