A report on Caroline Foster’s presentation “Adolescent lives matter: Staying with it - novel ways to increase adolescent adherence”
In this presentation Caroline, who works at the 900 Youth Clinic at St Mary’s Hospital London, spoke specifically about the challenges around adherence with HIV-positive young people aged 16-24 who are either newly diagnosed or transitioning from children’s services.
One of my key learnings from this session is that poor adherence in adolescents is normal, with poor adherence in those on ARVs at around 20% in London. Adherence patterns are also similar across disease types. For example, this pattern of reduced adherence in PLWH around puberty and the teenage years is equally matched with those living with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, corroborated by reduced glucose control during such years.
