Prevalence and factors contributing to first-line drug Resistance among patients attending the ART clinic at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. A cross-sectional study.

Background: The study aims to assess the prevalence and factors contributing to first-line drug Resistance among patients attending the ART clinic at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Methodology: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design to assess the prevalence and contributing factors of HIV drug resistance among patients attending the ART clinic of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH). The target population consisted of adult patients (aged 18 years and above) living with HIV who are attending the ART clinic at MRRH and are on first-line ART regimens. systematic random sampling technique was used to ensure Representativeness and minimize selection bias. Results: Of the 87 participants whose records were reviewed, 11(12.6%) individuals were found to be resistant to first-line antiretroviral therapy, while the vast majority of the sample, 76(87.4%), were identified as non-resistant, indicating that their current first-line regimens remained effective at the time of the study. In terms of gender, 51(58.6%) were females while 36(41.4%) males. 44(50.6%) were married, 25(28.7%) divorced and 18(20.7%) single. 58(66.7%) resided in rural areas while 29(33.3%) in Urban or peri urban settings. Regarding ART adherence, 62(71.3%) of participants maintained good adherence (≥95%), but 9(10.3%) were classified as having poor adherence (<85%), while 16(18.4%) had a fair adherence status. 78(89.7%) of participants reported that they had received formal HIV education at the clinic, while 9(10.3%) did not. 24(27.6%) of the participants reported experiencing side effects from their medication, which is a factor that often leads to treatment interruptions Conclusion: The study concludes that HIV first-line drug resistance is a significant clinical challenge at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Recommendations: MRRH should strengthen Community Drug Distribution Points (CDDPs) to reduce the transport burden for rural patients.