ArticleCulture, health & sexuality2017
'I told her this is your life': relationship dynamics, partner support and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among South African couples.
Article in Culture, health & sexuality, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
An Economic and Relationship-strengthening Intervention for HIV-affected Couples Who Drink Alcohol in Malawi
Mlambe: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Economic and Relationship-Strengthening Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Use in Malawi
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and associated factors of HIV among female sex workers in Eastern and Southern Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- A conceptual model of alcohol use and adherence to antiretroviral therapy: systematic review and theoretical implications for mechanisms of action.Health psychology review · 2022Pooled it
- Social and Structural Determinants of Household Support for ART Adherence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review .International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Mlambe economic and relationship-strengthening intervention for alcohol use decreases violence and improves relationship quality in couples living with HIV in Malawi.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2024Trial
- Including the Household: Individual, Community and Household Factors Affecting Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence After ART Initiation in Cape Town, South Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2024Trial
- Behavioral Modeling and its Association with PrEP and ART Use in Ugandan HIV-Serodifferent Couples.AIDS and behavior · 2024Trial
- Correlation between gender-based violence and poor treatment outcomes among transgender women living with HIV in Brazil.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of Test and Treat in Mozambique: A qualitative study on patient and provider perceptions.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Couple-Based Intervention to Improve HIV Care Engagement for Women and their Partners in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Outcomes of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS CareTrial
- "AIDS care · 2026Article
- Higher Sexual Relationship Power Associated With Optimal HIV Treatment and Care Outcomes Among Women Living With HIV in Heterosexual Relationships in Metro Vancouver.Violence against women · 2026Article
- Intersectional Stigma and Health of People Living with HIV on ART Who Use Alcohol in Southwestern Uganda.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Qualitative dyadic analysis in care partnership research: a scoping review.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Article
- Interpersonal factors associated with depression symptom severity among PrEP-naïve pregnant women in South Africa: a mixed-methods analysis.AIDS care · 2025Article
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- HIV and Viremia Prevalence in Nonmigrating Members of Migrant Households in Southern Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Managing multimorbidity together: relationship dynamics and dual medication adherence for hypertension and HIV in Malawi.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Observational
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Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Despite the important role of social relationships for health and wellbeing, little is known about how primary partners affect adherence to HIV care and treatment. We qualitatively explored how relationship dynamics and partner support influence adherence among couples from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Twenty-four heterosexual couples with at least one HIV-positive partner completed semi-structured interviews on topics including relationship dynamics (intimacy or emotional closeness, communication, violence), experiences with HIV care and treatment and HIV-related social support. The majority of couples were seroconcordant HIV-positive (92%) and both on antiretroviral therapy (ART) (63%). Participants described how primary partners both interfered with and supported adherence. Negative forms of influence included relationship conflict, which resulted in forgetfulness to take pills, and men's attempt to control use of ART. However, participants were more likely to highlight positive forms of influence on adherence, which included social support (instrumental, informational and emotional), intimacy and commitment. The findings also suggest a reciprocal relationship between ART and relationships such that couple ART use may enhance relationship quality. Primary partners are important pillars of support for ART adherence, especially in contexts of high unemployment and poverty. Future interventions that encourage and leverage these supportive relationships could improve ART adherence among heterosexual couples in similar settings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.