Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the literature and discusses the significant question that concerns health care providers up to the present day - that of the psychological and social effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on patients. It describes the use of HAART for patients with HIV/AIDS and the impact that it has had on their treatment. The paper then compares the studies and discusses their results.

From the Paper:

"This study corroborated with the other study, albeit on a more detailed level, the overwhelming factors associated with patient characteristics versus the advent of HAART. These studies showed that, in spite of the breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS treatment starting in 1996, there were several intrinsic patient factors that were previous and grossly underestimated in their influence on HIV/AIDS treatment. It is evident that from these two studies that psychosocial distress in the various forms outlined in the second study adversely affected the initial impact of HAART. It should be noted that, in being a chronic disease, the progression of HIV/AIDS is insidious and can be easily overshadowed by the more immediate concerns of living such as poverty, substance and single parenthood. In addition, these studies have shown that the impact of the disease on patients cannot be contained within a strictly clinical framework. In the previous mindset that new therapies may positively affect patient behavior, this has been cast into serious doubt as psychosocial factors can affect behavior-associated aspects of therapy such as compliance and the presence of (or lack of) a support group."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Burke-Miller, JK, Cook, JA, Cohen, MH, Hessol, NA et al. (2006). Longitudinal relationships between use of highly active antiretroviral therapy and satisfaction with care among women living with HIV/AIDS. American Journal of Public Health, 96(6), 1044-52.
• Siegel, K, Karus, D & Dean, L. (2004). Psychosocial characteristics of New York City HIV-infected women before and after the advent of HAART. American Journal of Public Health, 94(7), 1127.

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