The reliability of reports of medical adherence from children with HIV and their adult caregivers

Objective: To compare children's reports of their medication adherence to those of their adult caregivers. Method: Several indicators of medication adherence were assessed for 48 adult-child dyads. Kappa statistics were calculated as measures of agreement. Results: Adherence problems were common, although the level of agreement between the child and the adult was quite low (kappas for adherence variables ranged from .05 to .32). Compared to adult-child dyads that agreed, dyads that disagreed tended to include older children who had more responsibility for managing their own medications. Conclusions: Both researchers and clinicians would benefit from acquiring information on children's adherence from multiple sources.