Edinburgh Napier University

  Background: People living with HIV (PLWHIV) experience problems and concerns that require holistic assessment and person-centred care. Person-centred approach will facilitate active involvement of PLWHIV in making decisions about their care.

Aim: To explore PLWHIV and healthcare professionals (HCP) views on what constitutes person-centred care, including which care structures, processes and outcomes matter to PLWHIV, in order to develop a framework of person-centred care to improve their care quality, retention and outcomes.

Methods: PLWHIV and HCP in a community setting were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used based on PLWHIV ⩾20yrs, diagnosed ⩾6months, with cognitive ability to consent; HCP in HIV care ⩾6months. Sampling continued until thematic saturation was achieved when no new themes emerged that were relevant to the aims of this study. A deductive six-phase thematic analysis was undertaken to understand what constitutes person-centred care for PLWHIV.

Results: Interviews were undertaken with 24 PLWHIV (median age 32.5, 50% female) and 15 HCP (median age 28, 53% female). PLWHIV discussed distance travelled, burden of disclosure, stigma of having a sign up saying ‘HIV clinic’, non-involvement in care and care not delivering what matters to them. HCP discussed their lack of skills to undertake holistic assessment and expressed uncertainty about how to practice person-centred care. These views informed a person-centred care framework involving training HCP on person-centred communication, holistic assessment of PLWHIV needs in the domains of physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing, with collaborative care planning and delivery.

Conclusion: These results revealed aspects of care that matter to PLWHIV, barriers to accessing standard care services and the need to train and mentor HCP to be person-centred. We developed a framework of person-centred care based on the results to improve care quality and wellbeing for PLWHIV.