Pillbox organizers greatly improve adherence to HIV drug treatment and increase the chances of maintaining undetectable viral loads, a large San Francisco study has confirmed in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The clinical trial involving 245 HIV-positive predominantly urban poor patients found that pillbox organizers improved adherence by more than 4 percent and increased the chances of pushing viral load below 400 copies by approximately 15 percent.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I think that it's OK to be angry. I am sometimes—it's natural—we are HIV positive. but I always try to not let myself stay there too long. Let yourself feel you are human. You should not beat yourself up about being angry."
