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Nurse practitioner managed care for persons with HIV infection
L H Aiken1, E T Lake, S Semaan
1Center for Health Services and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania 19104-6096.
Image--The Journal of Nursing Scholarship
|January 1, 1993
Summary
Nurse practitioners (NPs) caring for HIV patients resulted in similar health outcomes and service use compared to physicians (MDs). NP patients reported better care experiences, suggesting expanded NP roles could improve access to HIV care.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Health Services Research
- Nursing Practice
Background:
- Outcomes for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients can vary based on provider type.
- Understanding the impact of different healthcare providers on HIV patient care is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare care outcomes for HIV patients managed by physicians (MDs) versus nurse practitioners (NPs).
- To evaluate functional status, symptom occurrence, self-management, service use, and patient-reported care assessments.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory study involving 87 HIV-infected patients in a teaching hospital outpatient setting.
- Comparison of care outcomes between patients primarily managed by MDs and NPs.
Main Results:
- Nurse practitioner (NP) patients were more likely to report fair or poor health status (OR=3.06, p=.028) and experienced more symptoms.
- Despite poorer self-reported health, NP patients maintained comparable functional status and health service utilization to MD patients.
- NP patients reported significantly fewer problems with their care (45% reduction, p=0.003).
Conclusions:
- Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide comparable functional and service outcomes to physicians (MDs) for HIV patients.
- Expanded use of NPs may safely improve access to care for individuals with HIV.
- Patient-reported care experiences are superior with NPs.