A 21-item scale of efficacy-expectation for adhesion to antiretroviral therapy in high-risk situations was developed by content analysis of interviews with HIV/AIDS patients undergoing and dropouts from therapy. Internal consistency and construct validity were examined in 60 patients attending at an ambulatory for patients in advanced stages of the disease (day-hospital). A score of self-efficacy for treatment adhesion was derived from the first component of the principal component analysis. The mean score was 0.25 among adherent patients and -0.33 among those who were non-adherent (t test, p < 0.046). The odds of treatment adhesion increased 2,07 times when the efficacy-expectation score increased by one unit (OR = 2,07; IC95% = 1,002 a 4,26). The internal consistency was high (Cronbach-alpha = 0.96). The scale demonstrated construct validity and reliability as a measure of self-efficacy for antiretroviral therapy in these patients.
Self-efficacy expectations; AIDS; HIV; treatment adhesion; compliance with treatment
