Care of patients on anti-retroviral therapy in kumasi metropolis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the characteristics of a cross-section of HIV infected persons receiving treatment from the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clinic in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi and highlight perspectives related to taking their treatment.
DESIGN: Using a structured questionnaire, sociodemographic characteristics and information related to taking ART were elicited from a random sample of 227 persons living with HIV (PLHIV) accessing ART in Kumasi in 2007. Health workers at the ART clinic were also given self-administered questionnaires to obtain their perspectives on the clinic.
RESULTS: Of those sampled, the majority (79.7%) were women and a third (34.8%) were unemployed. More than 95% of the study participants were on the recommended three drug antiretroviral therapy and most of the study participants, (80.6%) said they had never missed a dose of their drugs since starting treatment. About half of the respondents (51%) said the cost of the treatment was not affordable. Seven out of ten (73.6%) waited 3 hours at the clinic before being attended to. On an average clinic day, the number of patients the health workers attended to ranged from 30 to 100.
CONCLUSION: PLHIV accessing ART in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital were found to be managed as per national HIV treatment guidelines. Inability to afford the cost of treatment and service providers being overwhelmed by the large number of patients patronizing the clinic may have implications for patients taking ART as prescribed and the quality of care.