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Background & aim: High levels of adherence to treatment among HIV patients as one of the sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are essential for promoting viral suppression and preventing drug resistance, but little is known about the factors that contribute to antiretroviral adherence. This study aimed to evaluate adherence to therapy and its related factors among HIV-infected patients.Methods: This mixed-methods study was carried out at the Behavioural Diseases Center in Tabriz, Iran in 2021. In a cross-sectional study phase, 137 HIV-infected patients were selected through census sampling method. Then, 21 in-depth interviews were conducted during the qualitative phase using a content analysis approach. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed by SPSS (version 24) and MAXQDA (Version 10), respectively. Results: The mean score of Adherence was 8.96±2.36 and the majority of participants had moderate to high adherence to treatment. The analyses of regression, predictors of adherence included marital status (β= 0.219, SE= 0.090, P=0.016), income level (β= 0.206, SE= 0.201, P=0.030), and education (β= 0.226, SE= 0.063, P=0.021). Also, two themes of “perceived barriers” and “perceived facilitators” emerged which included six main categories at the individual, socio-environmental and organizational as well as drug and treatment levels.Conclusion: Despite moderate to high adherence, antiretroviral treatment is a challenging issue. Based on the results, various factors play a role as obstacles and facilitators factors of adherence to treatment among HIV patients. So, intervention programs can be aimed at removing barriers and strengthening facilitators based on based on the factors involved.

Abstract Background Adherence to therapy is a key predictor of the success of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment. There is limited information available from Iran about that and there is a need for more knowledge about factors influencing treatment adherence. The aim of this study is to examine adherence levels and to explore patients’ views about barriers and facilitators to HIV treatment adherence. Methods This mixed-method study with the sequential explanatory design has two phases. The first phase (quantitative phase) is a cross- sectional study to assess the in Tabriz, the sixth large city of Iran. A convenience sampling method will be used to select 150 HIV positive patients who visit health centers in Tabriz. The second phase is a qualitative study designed to explore the HIV positive patients’ views of barriers and facilitators that can affect their adherence to therapy. In this phase, purposive sampling and in-depth individual interviews will be conducted for data collection. The conventional content analysis approach will be employed for data analysis. In addition to literature review and nominal group technique, the findings of the qualitative and quantitative phases, will be used to recommend some strategies to support adherence to therapy in HIV positive patients. Discussion This is the first study looking into adherence to therapy and exploring of factors influencing in HIV positive patients which will be performed via a mixed-method approach, aiming to develop health practices improvement strategies. It is worth noting that there is no strategic guideline in Iran’s health system for improvement of treatment adherence in HIV positive patients. Health professionals and policy makers can be aware of factors influencing HIV treatment adherence. Therefore, it is hoped that the strategy proposed in the current study can lead to improvements their ability to treatment adherence.

AIDS affects physical, mental, social, and psychological health status. One of the goals of Health for All in the 21st century is to improve the quality of life. This study is a randomized clinical trial conducted on 120 HIV-positive women. Women were administered assessment questionnaires to be completed during the structured interview. After sample collection, participants were divided randomly into 3 groups by using the table of random numbers, then, respectively, received educational intervention, empowerment program, and routine procedures offered by the center and were followed by refilling the questionnaires 12 weeks after intervention. Depending on the type of data, chi-square, analysis of variance, and paired t test were used, and SPSS version 16 was used for data analysis. The finding showed that knowledge increased after intervention in educational ( P = .02) and empowerment groups ( P = .006); also empowerment group indicated significant difference in psychological ( P = .006) and spiritual ( P = .001) domains and their total quality of life ( P = .004). According to this study, exposing HIV-positive women to empowerment education is effective in improving their quality of life.

This study purposed to explore and describe the experiences of Iranian female students with the role of motherhood. This 2015 qualitative study used purposeful sampling to select 20 student mothers aged 24–50 who were studying at a state or non-state university in an urban area in northwest Iran. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews and analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Three main themes were developed during data analysis: “simultaneous management”, “facilities”, and “barriers”. The management of maternal and family affairs by female students in universities where motherhood is not supported is a challenge. The significance of mother-student roles must be emphasized and support and education provided for women to gain skills useful in playing these roles. Policy makers should devise strategies for bringing change to the traditional perspective that motherhood and educational responsibilities cannot be met at the same time by one person.