Prevalence and predictors of viral load suppression in adults living with HIV in the western region of Ghana: A cross-sectional study

Philip Boakye; Adwoa Safowaa; Philip Boakye; Adwoa Safowaa

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2023033

AIMS Public Health

2023, Volume 10, Issue 2: 469-479. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023033

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Research article Special Issues

Prevalence and predictors of viral load suppression in adults living with HIV in the western region of Ghana: A cross-sectional study

Philip Boakye ^{1,3
,
,},
Adwoa Safowaa ^1,2,3

1.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
2.
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Presbyterian University, Agogo, Ghana
3.
Department of Research in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Informatics, Koachie Health Systems, Accra, Ghana

Received: 30 December 2022 Revised: 05 May 2023 Accepted: 23 May 2023 Published: 25 May 2023

Background
Although antiretroviral therapy is beneficial and available free of cost to patients, several roadblocks still prevent patients from reaching viral suppression. This research aimed to determine the prevalence rate of viral suppression among people living with HIV in the western region of Ghana and identify the factors contributing to viral non-suppression.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 7199 HIV-positive adults. All data from the Sekondi Public Health Laboratory database was exported to Microsoft Excel and then verified and filtered before being exported to STATA 16.1. Viral non-suppression was modeled statistically using logistic regression.

Results
Viral load suppression was achieved in 5465 (75.91%) study participants who received antiretroviral treatment. However, 1734 participants (24.0%) did not achieve viral suppression. Patients with poor adherence to ARV (AOR 0.30; 95% CI 0.16, 0.58) and fair adherence to ARV (AOR 0.23; 95% CI 0.12, 0.45) were associated with a lower odd of viral non-suppression. Patients with six (6) months to two (2) years of treatment before viral load testing (AOR 0.67; 95% CI 0.46, 0.98) were also associated with a lower likelihood of viral non-suppression.

Conclusions
The rate of non-suppression was high, and the suppression rate fell short of the UNAIDS target. Poor ARV adherence, fair ARV adherence, and a treatment duration of six (6) months to two (2) years before viral load testing appear to be obstacles to viral load suppression. The research findings seem to suggest that viral load testing supports viral non-suppression. Therefore, using viral load tests to monitor medication's effects on health can motivate patients to adhere to their prescribed medication regimen. More research is needed to determine whether viral load testing can improve adherence. Given the high rate of virologic failure, the study highlights the importance of identifying antiretroviral resistance patterns.
- viral load,
- suppression,
- non-suppression,
- western region,
- adult HIV patient
Citation: Philip Boakye, Adwoa Safowaa. Prevalence and predictors of viral load suppression in adults living with HIV in the western region of Ghana: A cross-sectional study[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2023, 10(2): 469-479. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023033

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Abstract

Background

Although antiretroviral therapy is beneficial and available free of cost to patients, several roadblocks still prevent patients from reaching viral suppression. This research aimed to determine the prevalence rate of viral suppression among people living with HIV in the western region of Ghana and identify the factors contributing to viral non-suppression.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 7199 HIV-positive adults. All data from the Sekondi Public Health Laboratory database was exported to Microsoft Excel and then verified and filtered before being exported to STATA 16.1. Viral non-suppression was modeled statistically using logistic regression.

Results

Viral load suppression was achieved in 5465 (75.91%) study participants who received antiretroviral treatment. However, 1734 participants (24.0%) did not achieve viral suppression. Patients with poor adherence to ARV (AOR 0.30; 95% CI 0.16, 0.58) and fair adherence to ARV (AOR 0.23; 95% CI 0.12, 0.45) were associated with a lower odd of viral non-suppression. Patients with six (6) months to two (2) years of treatment before viral load testing (AOR 0.67; 95% CI 0.46, 0.98) were also associated with a lower likelihood of viral non-suppression.

Conclusions

The rate of non-suppression was high, and the suppression rate fell short of the UNAIDS target. Poor ARV adherence, fair ARV adherence, and a treatment duration of six (6) months to two (2) years before viral load testing appear to be obstacles to viral load suppression. The research findings seem to suggest that viral load testing supports viral non-suppression. Therefore, using viral load tests to monitor medication's effects on health can motivate patients to adhere to their prescribed medication regimen. More research is needed to determine whether viral load testing can improve adherence. Given the high rate of virologic failure, the study highlights the importance of identifying antiretroviral resistance patterns.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the staff and management of the National AIDS / STI Control Program, Sekondi Public Health Laboratory, for allowing us to carry out this research at their facility.

Use of AI tools declaration

The authors declare they have not used Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the creation of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

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