Lilian Owoko - Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Maseno University, Kenya. Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Background and Objectives: Adolescents living with HIV on medication have an additional duty to ensure adherence to antiretroviral therapy. There have been documented challenges in retaining adolescents in care and treatment programs, loss to follow-up, and poor adherence that have led to continued deaths. Adolescents on second-line antiretroviral therapy have reduced therapeutic options as they have resisted first-line drugs, and the third-line is not available in this resource-poor setting. Ensuring and upscaling adherence support is crucial. This study sought to find out the level of basic health literacy in terms of knowledge of one’s drugs, HIV re-infection, and HIV drug resistance and how this knowledge influenced adherence.Materials and Methods: This was a longitudinal ethnographic research coupled with a mixed methods approach. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to ۳۷ participants. The study conducted ten in-depth and ۱۳ key informant interviews, participant observation, and three focus group discussions. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS, and cross-tabulations were done to identify appropriate relationships. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented using descriptive reports and verbatim quotations.Results: Participants who had basic knowledge of the ARVs they were taking exhibited good adherence compared to those who did not know their ARVs. Among the participants, ۷۲% knew what HIV re-infection was, yet ۴۳% still had poor adherence. This was similar to basic knowledge of HIV Drug Resistance. Conclusion: There was sufficient health knowledge. However, the study observed a lack of ability to translate knowledge into practice. Other factors alongside health knowledge in determining health-promotive behaviour could be explored.

Adolescents, Adherence, Kenya, Knowledge, Medical Anthropology