Earthquake impact on adherence to antiretroviral therapy, mental health and the risk of ART drug resistance among people living with HIV in Nepal

4^th International Conference on HIV/AIDS, STDs and STIs

October 03-05, 2016 Orlando, Florida, USA

Negi Bharat Singh

Kobe University, Japan

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J AIDS Clin Res

Abstract :

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake April 2015 in Nepal claimed >8600 lives, 21900 were injured and 88000 people were displaced. >1000 of health facilities got damaged; 402 were completely destroyed. In such situation, HIV/AIDS can invite risk of public health threat as >95% medical adherence is required to prevent drug resistance and to control HIV complications. Our study aimed to assess the impact of earthquake on people living with HIV (PLHIV) especially adherence to antiretroviral therapy, risk of drug resistance or treatment failure and to assess post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV stigma and risky sexual behavior among PLHIVs. 305 PLHIVs were interviewed to find the information regarding ART drug adherence (last 4-day pill count), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), earthquake damage and loss, access to medical services, social support, discrimination and stigma and risky sexual behavior. Finding revealed that around 13% of the PLHIV reported treatment failure while only 8% of participants were not >95%-adherent to ART. Around 44% of the participant had PTSD symptoms, 49.8% reported being stigmatized and 45% did not use condom during last 3 months. 5% of participants lost their family member during the earthquake. Interestingly, ART adherence is not found statistically associated with PTSD, stigma and social support; however it is associated with disclosure sero-positive status. In resource-limit countries improving access to ART drugs and eliminating social stigma can prevent ART drug resistance during natural crisis.

Biography :

Negi Bharat Singh is currently a PhD scholar of International Health specialization in Kobe University, Japan. He has 10 years of working or research experience in public health sector in developing countries. He has completed his Master’s degree from Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo Japan.

Email: hallobharat@gmail.com