The impact of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) on use of highly active antiretroviral and antihypertensive therapy among HIV-infected women.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the association between enrollment into an AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and antihypertensive therapy. METHODS Cross-sectional analyses of data were performed on HAART-eligible women enrolled in the California (n = 439), Illinois (n = 168), and New York (n = 487) Women's Interagency HIV Study sites. A subset of HIV-infected women with hypertension (n = 395) was also analyzed. Unadjusted and adjusted backward stepwise elimination logistic regression measured the association between demographic, behavioral, and health service factors and nonuse of HAART or antihypertensive medication. RESULTS In adjusted analysis of HAART nonuse, women without ADAP were significantly more likely not to use HAART (odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-3.7) than women with ADAP. In adjusted analysis of antihypertensive medication nonuse, women without ADAP had an increased but not significant odds of antihypertensive medication nonuse (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 0.93-6.0) than women with ADAP. CONCLUSIONS Government-funded programs for prescription drug coverage such as ADAP may play an important role in how HIV-positive women access and use essential medications for chronic diseases.