Backman L, Brett-Smith HM, Virata MD; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. WePeG6898.
Quinnipiac University, New Haven, United States
BACKGROUND: AIDS-related disease and treatment has become more complex over time. Little information has been published regarding HIV+ patient's knowledge, understanding and accuracy of self-reported CD4 counts and viral load (VL) values, the effect on risk behavior and, antiretroviral (ART) treatment and adherence. METHODS: A sample of 100 HIV-infected men and women chosen from 2 clinics in New Haven, CT were interviewed. Demographic data along with information relating to patients' understanding of their health status, treatment knowledge and, sexual behavior were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Medical records were reviewed to determine the agreement with each self-report. RESULTS: Nearly half the patients were unable to recall their most recent CD4+ count or VL when collapsed into clinically meaningful categories. These patients were more likely to be Hispanic, have less years of education, fewer years being HIV+, lower CD4+ counts, higher VL and unable to name their current ART medicines. Less understanding of one's health status related to having had multiple sex partners in the past 5 years whereas drug and/or alcohol use and high-risk sexual behavior in the past was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Marginal evidence was found to support the reliability and validity of self-reported CD4 or VL test results. The lack of knowledge of two surrogate markers for tracking progression of HIV disease was significantly related to race, education, and years being HIV+. In addition, those HIV+ patients with advanced disease (low CD4/high VL) had even less understanding of their status than their counterparts and a factor in increasing risks of HIV transmission. Self-reported values must be interpreted in the context of a person's ability to comprehend health status information. Attention should be focused on updating HIV+ persons on their status and to educate them on the risks of viral transmission despite recent advances with ART.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Vaccines
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Attitude
- CD4 Lymphocyte Count
- Data Collection
- Disease Progression
- Female
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
- Male
- RNA
- RNA, Viral
- Sexual Behavior
- Viral Load
Other ID:
UI: 102254638
From Meeting Abstracts