Travel for HIV care in England: a choice or a necessity?
HIV Med
; 12(6): 361-6, 2011 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21091601
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
The aims of the study were (1) to measure the distance required to travel, and the distance actually travelled, to HIV services by HIV-infected adults, and (2) to calculate the proportion of patients who travelled beyond local services and identify socio-demographic and clinical predictors of use of non-local services.METHODS:
The straight-line distance between a patient's residence and HIV services was determined for HIV-infected patients in England in 2007. 'Local services' were defined as the closest HIV service to a patient's residence and other services within an additional 5 km radius. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify socio-demographic and clinical predictors of accessing non-local services.RESULTS:
In 2007, nearly 57 000 adults with diagnosed HIV infection accessed HIV services in England; 42% lived in the most deprived areas. Overall, 81% of patients lived within 5 km of a service, and 8.7% used their closest HIV service. The median distance to the closest HIV service was 2.5 km [interquartile range (IQR) 1.5-4.2 km] and the median actual distance travelled was 4.8 km (IQR 2.5-9.7 km). A quarter of patients used a 'non-local' service. Patients living in the least deprived areas were twice as likely to use non-local services as those living in the most deprived areas [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.98-2.37]. Other predictors for accessing non-local services included living in an urban area (AOR 0.77; 95% CI 0.69-0.85) and being diagnosed more than 12 months (AOR 1.48; 95% CI 1.38-1.59).CONCLUSION:
In England, 81% of HIV-infected patients live within 5 km of HIV services and a quarter of HIV-infected adults travel to non-local HIV services. Those living in deprived areas are less likely to travel to non-local services.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Viagem
/
Infecções por HIV
/
Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
HIV Med
Assunto da revista:
SINDROME DA IMUNODEFICIENCIA ADQUIRIDA (AIDS)
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido