IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p10314-d892191.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Involvement, Perception, and Understanding as Determinants for Patient–Physician Relationship and Their Association with Adherence: A Questionnaire Survey among People Living with HIV and Antiretroviral Therapy in Austria

Author

Listed:
  • Helmut Beichler

    (General Hospital, Nursing School, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria)

  • Igor Grabovac

    (Centre for Public Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria)

  • Birgit Leichsenring

    (Biomedical Science Communication med-info.at, 1150 Wien, Austria)

  • Thomas Ernst Dorner

    (Centre for Public Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Unite Lifestyle and Prevention, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria)

Abstract

Background: The relationship between patients and healthcare professionals (physicians) is the cornerstone of successful long-term antiretroviral therapy for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the connection between involvement, perception, and understanding as the basis for the patient–physician relationship and drug adherence, measured as the probability of non-adherence. Methods: In an online survey, people with HIV were asked about their relationship with their physicians and the extent to which they felt involved in treatment-related decisions. A statistical analysis was conducted to determine whether a better patient–physician relationship was associated with higher adherence to therapy. This was performed by univariate group comparison (Mann–Whitney-U, Fishers Exact Test) and logistic regression. Results: A total of 303 persons living with HIV participated in the survey, and 257 patients were included in the analysis. Overall, 27.6% were classified as non-adherent and self-reporting based on whether an antiretroviral therapy (ART) was taken in the past or how often the ART was interrupted. This proportion was significantly higher among patients aged 50–74 years (39.7%) and those with a longer therapy duration (9–15 years: 46.6%; from 15 years on: 55.8%). Therapy-non-adherent patients showed significantly lower scores in the relationship aspects understanding (2.68 vs. 3.03), participation (2.63 vs. 3.07), and perception (3.00 vs. 3.24) compared to adherent patients. Logistic regression analysis confirms that higher scores for understanding, involvement, and perception are strongly associated with a reduction in the risk of becoming non-adherent. This was true for all examined regression models, regardless of whether they were adjusted for the length of therapy and socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusion: The results reinforce the need for awareness among health care professionals (HCP) regarding understanding, involvement, and perception as important aspects to improve the quality of the patient–physician relationship for high adherence levels with maximized non-adherence in ART management by PLWH.

Suggested Citation

  • Helmut Beichler & Igor Grabovac & Birgit Leichsenring & Thomas Ernst Dorner, 2022. "Involvement, Perception, and Understanding as Determinants for Patient–Physician Relationship and Their Association with Adherence: A Questionnaire Survey among People Living with HIV and Antiretrovir," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-14, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10314-:d:892191
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10314/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10314/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mayer, K.H. & Venkatesh, K.K., 2010. "Antiretroviral therapy as HIV prevention: Status and prospects," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(10), pages 1867-1876.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kimberly A Koester & Shane P Collins & Shannon M Fuller & Gabriel R Galindo & Steven Gibson & Wayne T Steward, 2013. "Sexual Healthcare Preferences among Gay and Bisexual Men: A Qualitative Study in San Francisco, California," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(8), pages 1-11, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10314-:d:892191. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.