Performance evaluation impairment prior to HIV seropositive diagnosis: a preliminary Navy population-based study

Significant work problems were noted in two U.S. Navy personnel immediately prior to being found Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) seropositive. This finding suggested a preliminary study on performance evaluation impairment prior to HIV seropositive diagnosis. Cases studied were 75 (of a possible 82 available) HIV seropositive male sailors in the E-6 paygrade identified in 1987. One-sided analysis was conducted on categories from Navy performance evaluation reports prior to diagnosis, with controls' frequency matched for Rate, Rank, Date of Rank, Race, and Male sex (N = 71). The cases were significantly lower for Personal Behavior (OR = 2.04, p = 0.038 one-sided) and Overall (OR = 1.80, p = 0.048 one-sided). After adjustment by logistic regression for sea-shore duty, significant impairment was demonstrated for Personal Behavior (OR = 5.76, p = 0.002 one sided, with significant interaction p = 0.014), Reliability (OR = 2.89, p = 0.024 one-sided), and Overall (OR = 2.47 p = 0.036 one-sided). These findings suggest further studies on performance evaluation impairment prior to HIV seropositive diagnosis.