Perspectives of Chronic Disease Management Among Persons with HIV: A Qualitative Study

Persons with HIV (PWH) are living to advanced age as a result of ART. These epidemiological changes highlight the importance of innovating chronic care delivery of PWH, but there is limited research regarding patient preferences for chronic care delivery.

We conducted in-depth interviews of 20 PWH who receive care at the Duke Infectious Diseases Clinic. Manuscript was coded and we used thematic analysis to identify emerging themes from interviewees' responses.

Insights of the interviews revealed a strong affinity of PWH with their HIV providers and a reliance on them for primary care as a result. Participants also expressed a strong preference for receiving NCD care from a single provider, regardless of their current chronic disease care configuration. Participants also stated a willingness to embrace new roles of non-provider HIV clinic staff in their chronic disease care.

Overall, persons living with HIV prefer consolidation and co-location of their care, and are willing to endure minor inconveniences to accommodate this preference. Efforts towards promoting primary care integration into HIV clinics are warranted.