Abstract
African American women bear a disproportionate burden of HIV disease. Socioeconomic and psycho-social factors while adding to the vulnerability of this population also contribute to non-adherence and consequently poor outcomes. The provider-patient relationship has the potential to enhance HIV medication adherence in this population. Using in-depth interviews, patient and provider perspectives are explored to identify specific elements of the providerpatient interaction that enhance patient satisfaction with care and consequently improve HIV medication adherence. Themes associated with provider attitudes and actions perceived as positively impacting care in this patient group include (1) physical touch, (2) treating (the patient) “as a person”, (3) actively listening to the patient, (4) showing empathy, (5) being non-judgmental, and (6) being readily accessible. These findings suggest that the demonstration of care and commitment from the provider as perceived by the patient is important to African American women living with HIVand may significantly influence adherence behavior and enhance treatment outcomes in this population.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 376-384 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 29 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2016.
Keywords
- Adherence
- African American women
- HIV/AIDS
- Patient satisfaction
- Provider