Self-esteem and motivation with adherence of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Indonesia with antiretroviral therapy: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) helps reduce the amount of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that enters the body in order to avoid acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and prevents the occurrence of opportunistic infections and complications. This study aims to describe the correlation between self-esteem and motivation with adherence of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in ART.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 91 PLWHA who joined a non-government organization (NGO) support group, determined through a purposive sampling technique. The demography, and questionnaires about self-esteem, motivation and adherence to ART were employed to collect the raw data. The data were then analyzed using Spearman's rho test with the degree of significance at p < 0.05.

Results: The result showed that self-esteem (p = 0.000, r = 0.445) and motivation (p = 0.019, r = 0.246) had correlation with adherence of PLWHA with ART.

Conclusion: PLWHA can increase self-esteem and motivation so that they can improve ART adherence. Further research is expected to use an instrument more objectively as a measurement tool for ART adherence in addition to a questionnaire so as to obtain more accurate and specific results.