Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Kit N. Simpson

Second Advisor

Jillian B. Harvey

Third Advisor

Lauresa Washington McCoy

Abstract

A newly identified virus coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 caused a worldwide pandemic named COVID-19. This pandemic caused an interruption in the way medical care was traditionally delivered to People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). To meet the ongoing medical needs of PLWHA, HIV medical care was expanded to telehealth (i.e., telephone calls, video chat). Telehealth was implemented to keep patients engaged in care and treatment adherent. This study explores patients’ feelings and attitudes around their HIV care during the COVID-19 pandemic. A one-time survey was administered to patients who received care at an outpatient Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funded HIV clinic in the Southeastern part of the United States from March-August 2020. The survey items collected demographic information and explored patients’ thoughts and feelings toward telehealth. There were 137 participants that completed the survey with the median age of 52, 76% were male, 22% were female, and 48% identified as African American. For patients who utilized the telehealth option (n=99), 68% agreed that they would utilize telehealth option for their care if it was offered again in the future. The main benefit to using telehealth as reported by patients was the ability for telehealth to fit better with their schedules. There was no significant difference in age of telehealth users. The results of this study indicate that this telehealth model can be applied to the HIV care continuum moving forward with participants reporting overall satisfaction with their HIV care during COVID-19. Telehealth programs in HIV care can improve retention in care and medication adherence for PLWHA.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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