Retention on Anti-Retroviral Treatment Care and Associated Factors among Adult Anti-Retroviral Treatment Patients of Public Health Facilities in Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: Patient retention on ART care is directly correlated with positive health outcomes for both individual patient and public health. In Hadiya zone different strategies are tried to improve retention on ART care. But status of retention on ART care and affecting factors of retention are not studied in the zone. Objective: To assess status of retention on ART care and affecting factors among adult anti-retroviral treatment (ART) patients in public health facility of Hadiya zone, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hadiya zone using secondary data. Total sample size of 311 was proportionally allocated to 8 health facilities having more than20 alive ART cases. Participants were selected by systematic sampling method. We used adapted check list, and descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were employed to identify factors associated with retention on ART care. Odds ratio and 95% CI was used to declare significantly associated factor with retention on ART care. Result: The over all retention on ART care was 75.7%. Being female, secondary or above educational status, disclosure of self HIV/AIDS status to others, having les addiction level in alcohol/tobacco and history of drug regimen change have significant positive relation with retention on ART care in multivariate analysis at p< 0.05. Also for a unit increase in duration of month on ART, log odds of retention on ART care decreases by 0.80 times with 95% CI; (0.67, 0.96) and p<0.05. Conclusion: - This study has identified comparatively lower level of retention on ART care from finding of other Ethiopian and African ART Clinics. Ongoing counseling on importance of retention on care, disclosure of self sero-positivity status to family member, reducing the abuse of alcohol/tobacco is recommended.