“We give them threatening advice…”: expectations of adherence to antiretroviral therapy and their consequences among adolescents living with HIV in rural Malawi

Abstract

The potential of young people to adhere to their ART may be undermined by restrictive messages and punitive approaches to enforce and control their engagement with treatment at home, in the clinic and in the wider community. Interventions should focus on creating safe spaces for adolescents to speak frankly about the adherence challenges that they face and support for caregivers including home-based interventions.