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Positive response to 'gift tokens for undetectable viral load' trial
Gus Cairns, 2014-11-24 08:50:00
A US study presented at last month’s HIV Research for Prevention conference found generally positive responses among people with HIV and clinic staff to a trial that used $70 gift tokens as an incentive for people to attend clinic regularly, refill their HIV treatment drug prescriptions, and maintain an undetectable viral load.
However, the study found that only just under half of patients had an accurate understanding of what viral load was, and that this did not improve during the study.
The study also found that, far from spending the $70 on luxuries, many participants were spending it on basic necessities – including the co-payments on their own medications. This study therefore, while confirming that financial incentives can be used to improve retention in care and increase the proportion of people with HIV who are virologically suppressed, also underlines that poverty often lies at the root of failure to attend clinic and adhere to treatment, at least in the US.
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