AHRQ Study Updates Picture of U.S. HIV Positive Nursing Home Patients

Nearly 80 percent of nursing home residents with HIV are prescribed antiretroviral treatments, according to an AHRQ study that provides an updated snapshot of HIV positive nursing home patients in nearly 15 years. Researchers reviewed a nationwide database of Medicare claims linked to nursing home health assessments and prescription dispensing databases, comparing data from 2011-2013 and 1998-2000. Compared with statistics from 1998-2000, researchers found that patients with HIV are entering nursing homes at an average age of 60, as opposed to 44. New admissions had a higher prevalence of viral hepatitis (about 16 percent vs. 8 percent) and anemia (about 31 percent vs. 25 percent), but less pneumonia (about 11 percent vs. 14 percent) and dementia (about 9 percent vs. 21 percent). This population is expected to increase in the coming years as HIV treatments improve. Researchers believe these updated statistics will allow nursing homes to better anticipate the future health care needs of people living with HIV. Access the abstract to the study, published in the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

2019 Jan-Feb;30(1):20-34. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000033.

People Living With HIV in U.S. Nursing Homes in the Fourth Decade of the Epidemic.

Olivieri-Mui B, McGuire J, Cahill S, Griffith J, Briesacher B.

Abstract

As the number of persons living with HIV (PLWH) will continue to increase in the coming years, it is critical to understand factors influencing appropriate nursing home (NH) care planning. This study described the sociodemographic characteristics as well as the antiretroviral therapy treatment and physical and mental health among Medicare-eligible PLWH in NHs. Persons living with HIV were identified and summarized using a 2011-2013 nationwide data set of Medicare claims linked to NH resident health assessments and a prescription dispensing database, comparing new admissions in 2011-2013 with those from 1998 to 2000. We identified 7,188 PLWH from 2011 to 2013 in NHs of whom 4,031 were newly admitted. Of the total, 79% were prescribed antiretroviral therapy. Most were male (73%), Black/African American (51.1%), and a plurality resided in southern NHs (47%). Comparing the data sets, new admissions were older (60 vs. 44), had higher prevalence of viral hepatitis (16.2% vs. 7.5%), and anemia (31.1% vs. 25.1%) but had less pneumonia (11.0% vs. 13.6%) and dementia (8.7% vs. 21.0%). NH nurses can better anticipate health care needs of PLWH using these health profiles, understanding that there have been changes in the health of PLWH at admission over time.