National Scientific Meeting Will Address the Challenges of Adherence to HIV Therapies

* State of the Science: Why Adherence in an issue In HIV Therapy
* Overview of Adherence to Medical Treatments
* Living with the Regimen
* Measures of Adherence
* Illustrative Interventions
* Current Adherence Activities
In addition to presentations from experts in the field, the conference will include
an open comment period.
The November 20 conference will be followed by a meeting of 100 panelists
charged with developing recommendations for an adherence research agenda.
"Adherence to HIV drug regimens is one of the greatest challenges our
constituents face," said Paul Kawata, executive director of the National Minority AIDS
Council. "Many of our member organizations are struggling to provide support for
individuals who are trying to stick with a treatment regimen. Unfortunately, we don't
really know what kind of supports are most useful. Our organizations are developing
written materials on adherence, instituting adherence-based support groups, and
counseling individual clients on the importance of HIV treatment adherence. But the
research has not yet been done to tell us what interventions will really work."
"Scientists have developed a number of exciting new drugs for the treatment of
HIV/AIDS, but our lab science is ahead of our social science in designing drugs that
people can use on an ongoing basis," said David Barr, director of the Forum for
Collaborative HIV Research. uWe know very little about how to help individuals
successfully tailor their lives to these demanding drug regimens. Although there has
been extensive research on treatment adherence in other disease areas, such as
diabetes, tuberculosis, and hypertension, research in the area of HIV has only recently
begun. "
"We hope that this conference will be a catalyst for a national research effort to
address these challenges," said Dr. William Paul, Director of the NIH Office of AIDS
Research "The meeting will bring together representatives from some of the finest
AIDS research, advocacy, and education organizations in the country."
Among those involved in the conference planning were representatives of the
the University of Michigan School of Nursing, Columbia University, the Duke University
Medical Center, George Washington University, Harlem Hospital, the American