Comprehensive systems of care are required to serve both the medical and psychosocial needs of adolescents with HIV infection who are frequently inexperienced with healthcare systems.
Developmental issues make caring for adolescents unique. The adolescent’s approach to illness is often different from that of an adult. The concrete thought processes of adolescents make it difficult for them to take medications when they are asymptomatic, particularly if the medications have side effects.
Adherence with complex regimens is particularly challenging at a time of life when adolescents do not want to be different from their peers. Further difficulties face adolescents who live with parents to whom they have not yet disclosed their HIV status and those who are homeless and have no place to store medicine.