HIV medication adherence amid multiple inequities: Detailing the lived challenges of the most at risk people with HIV

Abstract This study aimed to identify patterns of barriers to help inform adherence interventions for the most at-risk people living with HIV. Ethnographic data from two peer-led HIV medication adherence intervention studies (N = 35) were analyzed. Trained Peer Interventionists met with intervention participants for six weeks and wrote semi-structured field notes about participants’ adherence experiences. The most common challenges were physical illness (HIV and non-HIV related), mental health, isolation, poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, and hunger or poor diet. Successful interventions necessitate connections to various multileveled services that address trauma and multiple challenges and are preferably available in one location.