Introduction
A subdivision of diverse groups into more homogenous samples is proposed as a way to gain clearer information on the treatment compliance dynamics and factors that influence it for a particular group. Namely, it is proposed to focus on African American females living with HIV and the acquisition of social support in combination with HIV treatment as a contributing factor. Social support is recognized as one of the most effective, flexible, and diverse ways to achieve treatment adherence (Surface, 2007). The hypothesis is that social support added to the HIV treatment improves treatment compliance in African-American females.
Research Design
The collection of data in this research involves investigating personal record and histories of patients; therefore strict confidentiality is to be in place to avoid a breach of ethics (Berg, 2001). Sampling will be conducted without blinding the researchers following the predetermined inclusion criteria in order to achieve homogeneity of the participant groups.
Sample
The proposed sample should combine 100 African American females and be divided into treatment and control groups of 50 women each; the sampling strategy is convenience (inclusion criteria: living with HIV, being of African American background, receiving HIV treatment, obtaining social support services – for the treatment group only). Treatment group should include the participants receiving social support in a combination with HIV treatment. The control group would include women with HIV, who receive treatment but no social support.
Research Method
An interview is proposed as one of the research methods for this study. Data collection will be conducted by means of a structured conversation with the participants (that will be written down) directed at the issue of perceived obstacles to treatment compliance. Further, the reasons named by the participants will be coded and grouped for inductive analysis and presentation in a form of a table based on popularity of answers. Besides the interview, the participants’ treatment compliance will be investigated based on their treatment records. Additionally, the treatment group will be interviewed about the contribution of social support – the answers will be coded and put in a table based on their popularity for data presentation.
Data Analysis
The code words of the two groups will be compared in order to reveal the similarities and differences in the perceived obstacles to HIV treatment. Also, the overall compliance rates of both groups will be calculated and compared.
Findings, Limitations, Conclusion
The study’s primary potential limitation is the small size of the sample; this factor may result in the inconsistency of the research findings when applied to a bigger group. Another limitation is the potential presence of highly personalized and individual barriers. Overall, the study findings are expected to shed the light on the issue of HIV treatment compliance and the impact of social support on it revealing the main benefits and barriers.
References
Berg, B. (2001). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Kalichman, S. C., Catz, S., & Ramachandran, B. (1999). Barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment and treatment adherence among African-American adults with disadvantaged education. Journal of the National Medical Association, 91(8), 439-446.
Remien, R. H., Hirky, A., Johnson, M. O., Weinhardt, L. S., Whittier, D., & Le, G. (2003). Adherence to Medication Treatment: A Qualitative Study of Facilitators and barriers among a diverse sample of HIV+ Men and Women in Four U.S. Cities. AIDS and Behavior, 7(1), 61-72.
Surface, D. (2007). HIV/AIDS Medication Compliance: How Social Support Works. Social Work Today, 7(5), 20.