The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) have become one of the major
health problems in many countries in the
world. The disease is widely spread in low
and middle income developing countries.
The HIV pandemic is one of the most
serious health crises the world faces today.
Globally, there was an estimated 33 million
people living with HIV by the end of 2007
and more than 25 million people since 1981
have died from AIDS. In 2007 there were
2.7 million new infections and 2 million
HIV-related deaths. Non-adherence issues
have been common especially in subSaharan
African countries. It is not known
why the clients find it hard to reach the
recommended near perfect adherence levels
of or above 95 per cent and therefore there is
need to establish this. If the clients’ issues
are not extensively addressed, there might
be a possibility of clients in developing viral
resistance. The critical factors that influence
adherence fall into four main categories:
Clients factors such as active drug or alcohol
use, age, sex, cultural beliefs and ethnicity;
medication for regimen such as dosing
complexity, side effects, number of pills,
food restrictions; provider-client
relationships such as attitudes, beliefs and
system of care/service delivery such as long
distance travel, inconvenient appointments.
The purpose of this study was to establish
the factors influencing adherence to
antiretroviral therapy (ART) among youth in
Meru county based on a case of Meru
Teaching and Referral Hospital (METRH).
The target population for this study
composed the 12 doctors, 76 nurses and 206
patients living with HIV/AIDS in Meru
County. A sample population of 167 was
arrived at by calculating the target
population of 294 with a 95% confidence
level and an error of 0.05. Data was
analyzed using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS Version 21.0). Multiple
regression analysis was used to establish the
relations between the independent and
dependent variables. The study sought to
establish the client factors influencing
adherence to ART antiretroviral therapy)
among youth in Meru County. Further the
study sought to establish the medication
factors influencing adherence to
antiretroviral therapy (ART) among youth in
Meru County. The study also sought to
establish the provider-client factors
influencing adherence to antiretroviral
therapy (ART) among youth in Meru
County. Again, the study sought to establish
the stigma and discrimination factors
influencing adherence to antiretroviral
therapy (ART) among youth in Meru
County. The study concluded that client
factors had the greatest effect on the
Adherence to ART, followed by providerclient
factors, then medication factors while
stigma and discrimination factors had the
least effect to the Adherence to ART and
that all the variables were significant. The
study recommends that people living with
HIV should be encouraged not to
continuously use alcohol which disrupts
antiretroviral therapy. The study
recommends that the manufacturer should
focus on the complexity of dosage such that
one pill which contains all the requirements
can be manufactured in order to reduce the
dosing complexity which is highly believed to have discouraged youth from
antiretroviral therapy. The study finally
recommends that the county government of
Meru should organize for a road show to
sensitize its residents on the effects and
importance of adhering to ART.