Responsible Pharmacotherapy for People Living with HIV
HIV care is long-term, complex, and deeply shaped by the everyday realities of the health system. The HIV Antimicrobial Contextual Therapeutics (HIV ACT) Research Group at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) works across the continuum of care to strengthen medication management and antimicrobial stewardship for people living with HIV.
Strengthening HIV Care Through Enhanced Medication Management and Stewardship
Antimicrobial resistance is a major and growing healthcare threat. South Africa has the highest HIV population globally, which drives antibiotic use across the health system. As people living with HIV remain on treatment for longer, comorbidities and secondary infections increase, leading to more complex medication regimens with polypharmacy and higher drug–drug interactions. These realities place pressure on healthcare services and highlight the need for stronger, context-relevant evidence and stewardship to support safe and effective prescribing.
Led by Elmien Bronkhorst, a clinical pharmacist and Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at SMU, HIV ACT advances research and translation that supports responsible pharmacotherapy and improved patient outcomes in South Africa.
Our Approach
Our vision is a South Africa where all people living with HIV can live healthy lives through quality medication management and healthcare.
Our mission is to advance interdisciplinary pharmacotherapy research to improve antimicrobial stewardship, better manage disease, and protect antimicrobials for future generations.
To achieve this, we focus on three interconnected objectives:
Contextualised Research
Generating context-specific evidence on HIV pharmacotherapy, antimicrobial use, and prescribing practices across healthcare settings in South Africa to strengthen decision-making and care outcomes.
Research Capacity Strengthening
Building interdisciplinary pharmacotherapy research capacity by supporting postgraduate pathways and strengthening the pipeline of clinical pharmacy researchers and collaborators.
Evidence to Practice
Translating research into practical implementation support through partnerships, training, and awareness initiatives that strengthen frontline care and improve prescribing practice.
Our Research
Our research strengthens HIV pharmacotherapy and antimicrobial stewardship by linking evidence, practice, and health system realities to improve medication management and care outcomes.
Medication Management Practices and Stewardship
Building an evidence base on medication management patterns and stewardship needs across the HIV care continuum to inform improvement strategies.
Complex Regimens, Interactions, and Care Pathways
Exploring how comorbidities, secondary infections, and drug–drug interactions shape treatment outcomes and medication management needs.
Clinical Pharmacy in Interdisciplinary HIV Care
Strengthening evidence and practice models that integrate clinical pharmacists into interdisciplinary HIV care teams, improving medication management and supporting responsible prescribing.
South Africa’s HIV burden, alongside the realities of long-term treatment, creates a clinical context where antibiotic use, complex regimens, and treatment interactions are common. At the same time, antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines that patients rely on. HIV ACT responds by strengthening interdisciplinary pharmacotherapy research that supports responsible prescribing, stronger stewardship, and improved HIV care in real-world settings.
Led by Associate Professor Elmien Bronkhorst, a clinical pharmacist at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), the initiative brings medication expertise closer to the centre of care. Elmien’s work focuses on medication management, drug–drug interactions, and stewardship, with a clear emphasis on strengthening the role of clinical pharmacy within interdisciplinary HIV care teams so that prescribing decisions are better informed and more consistent.
Through contextualised research, capacity strengthening, and evidence-to-practice engagement, HIV ACT supports better patient outcomes while helping safeguard antimicrobials for future generations. In parallel, it strengthens a pipeline of clinical pharmacy researchers and collaborators who can sustain and expand this work over time.
