PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES AND ADHERENCE BEHAVIORS AMONG HIV+ PATIENTS: A GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS

摘要

A retrospective and cross-sectional study was performed in order to identify gender differences in psychological variables associated with adherence behaviors among 74 HIV+ patients from Sonora, Mexico, who answered two self-administered questionnaires: 1) Psychological variables underlying adherence behaviors, and 2) Stressrelated situations. Statistically significant differences were observed among non-adherent and 100% adherent patients (x~2 [1] = 26.162; p <.001), as well as among men (83.7%) and women (72%) practicing adherence behaviors all days of the week (Z = -4.907; p <.001); finally, a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that motivation variables(corrected OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.27-2.39), as well as current behavioral competencies(corrected OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.00-1.24) were psychological variables associated with adherence behaviors. Results show that motivation and optimal current competent performance are psychological variables operating in different way in both VIH+ men and women; this issue must be taken into account in order to improve the effectiveness of interdisciplinary intervention programs regarding Mexican health care institutions.