The success of your anti-HIV drugs requires a very high level of dedication from you. Adherence is the term used to describe taking your HIV drugs exactly as prescribed, with no missed or late doses, and eating the correct type of food at the right time in relation to your drugs if that's required. You should aim to take every dose of your medicine. Missing even a few doses can cause your drugs to fail and there’s good evidence that adherence levels of over 90-95% are what's needed for you to get the best response. This means missing no more than once dose a month if you are taking once a day therapy, or two doses a month if you are taking your anti-HIV drugs twice a day.

Adherence support should be part of the routine care you receive from your clinic. The following issues are important elements within effective adherence and should be considered periodically as part of your HIV care, and whenever you start a new HIV drug combination:

• Your motivation to start and continue with your treatment.

• Your understanding of adherence and drug resistance.

• The impact of treatment on your lifestyle and well-being.

• Your mental health.

• Risk of side-effects, and their management.

• The risk and benefits of treatment

• That you have the information you need to be able to take your treatments, including information in written form.

Pill boxes have been shown to help improve adherence. HIV clinics are often able to provide free pill boxes with separate compartments for each dose you have to take so you can keep track of the doses you’ve taken.

For more information, see the booklet Adherence in this series.