Patient Experiences with Telemedicine for HIV Care During the First COVID-19 Wave in Atlanta, Georgia.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses
; 38(5): 415-420, 2022 05.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34693726
ABSTRACT
We explored experiences with telemedicine among persons with HIV (PWH) during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A convenience sample of adults (>18 years) receiving care in an urban clinic in Atlanta were invited to participate. Patients completed a structured survey that assessed the usefulness, quality, satisfaction, and concerns with telemedicine services (telephone calls) received during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020). Demographic, plasma HIV-1 RNA, and CD4+ T cell count data were obtained through medical chart abstraction. Bootstrapped t-tests and chi-square tests were used to examine differences in patient experiences by age, sex, and race. Of 406 PWH contacted, 101 completed the survey (median age 55 years, 84% men, 77% Black, 98% virally suppressed, median CD4 count 572 cells/µL). The main HIV care disruptions experienced were delays in follow-up visits (40%), difficulty getting viral load measured (35%), and difficulty accessing antiretroviral therapy (21%). Participant ratings for quality (median score 6.5/7), usefulness (median score 6.0/7), and satisfaction (median score 6.3/7) with telemedicine were high. However, 28% of patients expressed concerns about providers' ability to examine them and about the lack of laboratory tests. More women had concerns about providers' ability to examine them (92% vs. 50%, p = .005) and about the safety of their personal information (69% vs. 23%, p = .002) compared with men. No age or race differences were observed. Although PWH are generally satisfied with telephone-based telemedicine, concerns with its use were notable, particularly among women. Future HIV telemedicine models should address these.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções por HIV
/
Telemedicina
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses
Assunto da revista:
SINDROME DA IMUNODEFICIENCIA ADQUIRIDA (AIDS)
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos