Enhancing HIV Treatment Adherence in South India: The Chetana Study

The study brings together researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, India. The overall goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of a promising Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) adherence-enhancing intervention grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) that addresses the needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV). This intervention targets not only medication adherence, but also other culturally-relevant topics designed to enhance physical and mental health among PLHIV, including yoga/meditation, nutrition, legal services, and assistance accessing local resources. We are testing this promising intervention in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) among 500 sub-optimally adherent patients, comparing it to a time-matched active control condition, consisting of the non-adherence specific components of the intervention.