Quality of care measurement in nursing home AIDS care: a pilot study

A pilot study was conducted to identify which, if any, demographic or quality indicators differentiate HIV-positive patients from other long-term care patients. This study used the Minimum Data Set files for all New York state nursing homes submitted in 1997. Chi-square tests were used to assess difference in proportions of demographics and quality indicators between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. The HIV-positive patients tended to be between 40 and 59 years of age and male and were more likely to be Black or Hispanic. HIV-positive patients had a significantly higher prevalence of diagnosis or symptoms of depression without any treatment compared to HIV-negative patients. HIV-positive patients had significantly higher prevalence of weight loss, antipsychotic use, antianxiety/hypnotic use, and incontinence of bladder and bowel compared to HIV-negative patients. This study paves the way for the development of a more appropriate quality indicator system tailored to the AIDS population and allows facilities to make necessary improvements in the quality of care offered to this vulnerable population.