Doctors, Patients, and Adherence to HIV Medication: Findings of the Communication, Communities, and Health Study

This study is about whether doctors have the potential to influence adherence by forming a solid patient-doctor relationship. This study is also about health disparities; specifically, if racialized life experiences have any association with either adherence or the formation of a solid patient-doctor relationship. Self-reported racial discrimination was shown to be a risk factor for non-adherence (OR 4.725, p-value [less than] 0.05), while compassionate behavior on the part of the clinician predicted adherence (OR 0.062, p-value [less than] 0.1 trend). Future directions include applying for extramural funding to conduct a clinical trial emphasizing communication as a way to eliminate health disparities. In the long term, the goal of medical educators should be to recruit more non-white physicians in order to further eliminate health disparities.