Drug Adherence by Arnold

Arnold started by asking what is the definition of drug adherence?

It’s when you are using medicine as the doctor said (If doctor tell you to use your medicine three times a day and you are given specific time and number of pills, you should do exactly as doctor said)

If you don’t use your medication as doctor said, you will end up with drug resistance in your body and instead of medication to help you, the medications won’t help and your CD4 will keep going down every time.

Then he asked What is drug resistance and one of the youth reply by saying:

Drug resistance is when drug doesn’t do what we were expecting in our body.

Then Arnold explained What is the cause drug resistance

There are two ways that cause drug resistance:

One is when a drug has no ability to fight a disease and this is when you didn’t get right medication, or under dose or over dose.

Second is when you don’t use medication as the doctor says and you end up with drug resistance.

What to do to overcome drug resistance?

Make sure you remember or remind a person/people who are living with HIV to take their ARVs

Make sure you take as doctor says— a the right time and make sure it’s the right dose.

What will make you remember to take your medication?

Find someone you really trust and you can be open to them because they might be helpful to remind you to take your medication at a right time.

Put an alarm to remind you or pick something in your daily activities so it can remind you to take your medication before or after.

Questions and answers:

Why drug resistance? – It’s when you don’t use your medication as doctor said.

What should I do when my medication doesn’t work? – You should go back to the doctor and they will tell you what to do or they will change your medication.

The meeting was closed at 05:00pm and planned for July meeting because in June most of the youth were going away for vacation after they close school.