Creating a paper-based personal health record for HIV-infected persons

A personal health record (PHR) contains information that a client believes is important to his/her health status; it can be either paper or Internet-based. The purposes of this action research were to determine the length of time an expert HIV nurse clinician needed to create a comprehensive PHR and to determine how hard it was for the patient to understand different components of a PHR. The average respondent (N = 9) was older, female, completed high school, African American, diagnosed with AIDS, and taking HIV medications for 11 years. The HIV nurse expert spent an average of 79 minutes preparing the PHR. Clients had the greatest difficulty understanding laboratory tests, medications, medical history, and immunizations. PHRs are evolving through the consumer-empowerment movement, technology, and a growing awareness of the consequences of medical errors. Nurses need to assist clients to create and use the PHR as an important tool in self-care management.