PERBEDAAN TINGKAT KEPATUHAN MINUM OBAT ANTIRETROVIRAL (ARV) DAN KUALITAS HIDUP ORANG DENGAN HIV/AIDS (ODHA) YANG TERGABUNG DAN TIDAK TERGABUNG DALAM KELOMPOK DUKUNGAN SEBAYA DI PAMEKASAN PENELITIAN DESKRIPTIF KOMPARATIF

Background: ARV medication adherence and the quality of life in PLWHA is still low and most PLWHA have not joined the peer support group. This research aims to analyze differences levels of adherence to taking antiretroviral drugs and quality of life among people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who joined and did not join the Malatèh Setaman peer support group. Method: The research design used was a comparative description with 39 respondents including 23 PLWHA who joined peer support group and 16 PLWHA who did not join peer support group were selected using total sampling technique. The independent variables measured include PLWHA who joined and did not join peer support group, and the dependent variables included adherence to taking ARV drugs and quality of life for PLWHA. Data were obtained using the MMAS-8 and WHOQOL-HIV BREF questionnaire then analyzed using Mann-Whitney U Test with a significance level α≤0,05. Results: The statistical test showed that there was a difference between levels of adherence to taking antiretroviral drugs of PLWHA who joined and did not join Malatèh Setaman peer support group (p = 0.001) and there was a difference between the quality of life of PLWHA who joined and did not join Malatèh Setaman peer support group (p = 0.000). Discussion: PLWHA who was joined Malatèh Setaman peer support groups had a high ARV medication adherence level and quality of life. Further research should include more variables such as family support and supervisor taking medicine