EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PATIENT EDUCATION IN ENHANCING ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ADHERENCE AMONG INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN ART CLINICS IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

This paper aimed to evaluate the potency of patient education in improving ART adherence among individuals attending ART clinics in South-West Nigeria. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, participants were non-randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. ART adherence was assessed at baseline and six weeks post-intervention using a validated scale, with the impact of the intervention analyzed via paired t-tests and effect size calculations. At baseline, both groups exhibited suboptimal adherence, with the experimental group having a mean score of 4.12 ± 1.54 and the control group showing similar scores. Following the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in adherence (5.54 ± 0.96, p < 0.001, effect size = 1.78), whereas the control group showed only minimal change. These results align with prior research indicating that structured educational programs enhance medication adherence in resource-limited settings. In conclusion, the patient education intervention significantly improved ART adherence, underscoring the critical need to integrate structured educational programs into standard HIV care. Future interventions should prioritize sustained patient education and support strategies to optimize long-term treatment outcomes.