Background:

HIV/AIDS is affecting more and more women. Adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) is decisive for those infected to achieve quality of life.

Purpose:

The aim of the present study is to determine the degree of adherence displayed by a group of women with HIV/AIDS and to identify those factors and circumstances which might influence their adherence to ART.

Method:

A sequential mixed model research design was applied. The subjects studied consisted of 86 women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and treated with ART.

Findings and discussion:

Qualitative data were collected from 18 of these women. 59.3% of participants were non-adherents. The determining factors for non-adherence were level of education, age, income, as well as personal and/or interpersonal factors such as socio-familial support, perceived stigma, self-stigma and factors related to disease and treatment. Nursing care should take a gender-focused approach towards those psychological and personal factors inherent in the adherence process.

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