People living with HIV/AIDS perceptions about health care services and highly active antiretroviral treatment: a cross-sectional study in 5 cities of Perú

Abstract

National literature on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) perceptions on existing health services they receive is scarce. Objectives: To gather the perceptions of PLWHA on specialized health care services and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study with application of an ad-hoc survey, previously validated, in PLWHA users of the main hospitals that provide HAART in five cities of Peru. A non-probabilistic sample of 488 PLWHA was planned and participants were enrolled for convenience in succession to reach the sample size. Results: From January to March 2007, 578 PLWHA from 7 hospitals in 5 cities were enrolled. 27,5% and 7,5% of the respondents were female and transgender respectively. 27.2% commented that received the diagnosis in 2006. 28,2% referred previous management in another health facility and the main reasons for the change were for medical referral (51,5%) and abuse of health personnel (8%). 85,3% are currently receiving HAART and of those who did not receive about one-third had already received indication for initiation of therapy, 10% referred having not received HAART by shortages of medicines. Conclusions: The implementation of the HAART program in Peru evokes new research needs on the quality of care, access to comprehensive care and adherence.