Sources Influencing Patients in Their HIV Medication Decisions

The authors surveyed 202 patients (54.5% male; 62.4% African American) enrolled at St. Louis HIV clinics to identify the importance of various sources of influence in their HIV medication decisions. Physicians were the most important source for 122 (60.4%) respondents, whereas prayer was most important for 24 respondents (11.9%). In multivariate tests controlling for CD4 counts, Caucasian men were more likely than Caucasian women and African Americans of both genders to select a physician as the most important source. African Americans were more likely than Caucasians to mention prayer as the most important source. Caucasians and those rating physicians as the most important source were more likely to be using antiretroviral medications. Respondents identified multiple important influences—hence the potential for conflicting messages about HIV medications. These findings have implications for health education practices and behavioral research in the medical setting.