Presenter(s): Arden Saravis
Faculty Mentor(s): Clare Evans
Poster 159
Session: Social Sciences & Humanities
Failure to adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART), the medication for HIV, persists in exponentially large numbers in the adolescent population in Western Kenya. The presence of stigma surrounding HIV heavily contributes to this immense prevalence in society. Adolescents living with HIV fear premature disclosure of their status to their peers, therefore leading to isolation, so many choose to not bring their ARTs in public and even hide them in their homes. This study investigates alternative packaging/casing for the ARTs that will be discrete, and thus encourage adolescents to carry their medication in public since they will be unrecognizable. This study will conduct in-depth interviews (IDI) among adolescents aged 10-24 years as well as key informant interviews (KII) with those who work directly with HIV infected youth. Extensive preliminary research amongst 300 adolescents with HIV has confirmed the need for a discrete package to be developed and creative suggestions have already been made. The results of this study will present design recommendations and ideas from the affected population themselves, and this information gathered may be used to inform a new product design for ART casing/packaging.