217560 Disparities in Access to Acupuncture Care for HIV/AIDS: Even when care is free, women experience decreased access

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 12:30 PM - 12:50 PM

Elizabeth Sommers, MPH, LicAc, PhD (candidate) , Research Dept., Pathways to Wellness/ AIDS Care Project, Boston, MA
Kristen E. Porter, MAc, LicAc , Pathways to Wellness, Boston, MA
Background: Acupuncture treatment has been provided by the AIDS Care Project since 1989. Following loss of federal funding in 2005, hundreds of patients lost access to care. Although local funding sources made it possible to continue providing treatment at a vastly reduced capacity, the purpose of this evaluation was to determine if continued access to care was associated with gender or other sociodemographic factors. Methods: A review of medical records and treatment utilization was undertaken to assess baseline characteristics of individuals with HIV/AIDS who used acupuncture. Records of all patients receiving care between 2000 and 2007 were identified and abstracted to determine age, gender, ethnicity, HIV-status, distance from residence to clinic, history of alcohol and substance use, and mental health status. Results: Our search identified records of 1017 individual patients receiving acupuncture care during the relevant time period. All patients receiving care were living at or below the federal poverty level. Approximately 25% were female; 24% were African-American; 23% were Hispanic/Latino; 53% were white; 25% had an AIDS diagnosis and 75% had been diagnosed HIV-positive; 20% reported current alcohol or drug use. Unadjusted bivariate associations showed that two groups were less likely to have access to acupuncture following budget cuts: women (p=0.0259) and patients reporting current alcohol use at intake (p=0.0011). Results of logistic regressions indicated that female gender was associated with borderline significance (p=0.0884). Conclusions: Disparities in access to care, even when care is offered at no cost to patients, can occur when federal support is withdrawn. Efforts to safeguard women's well-being need to be maintained and intensified.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1) To identify factors influencing individuals' ability to access care 2) To describe results of loss of federal funding for adjunctive care for people living with HIV/AIDS

Keywords: Access to Care, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author because this work was done as part of my doctoral dissertation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.