Personal chaos in HIV patients' lives may be a barrier to regular medical care, UCLA S...( Unstable and unpredictable lifestyl...),Health

Unstable and unpredictable lifestyles are significant factors in determining access to health care among low-income HIV-positive people, a new UCLA study has found.

The study, to be published in the September issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that when HIV patients lead chaotic lives meaning they are disorganized or experience too many unexpected events that chaos can act as a barrier to regular medical care. The researchers also developed a new scale to gauge the level of chaos in an adults life.

The findings suggest a possible new alternative to help ensure that low-income patients get the care they need, said the studys lead author, Dr. Mitchell Wong, an assistant professor of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Many people have barriers to care, such as problems with transportation, housing, child care and health insurance. Traditionally, we look to solve these problems with case managers who can help reduce these barriers, Wong said. But theres a whole potential other mechanism which might be happening that people are just having trouble managing and organizing their lives. I think many of us take for granted the support mechanisms that we have, but many people who are living in poverty dont have that support network. They dont have that buffer zone to cope with the unexpected things. Perhaps enhancing stability and organization in peoples lives can also help them get the regular care that they need.

Some 220 low-income HIV-positive patients participated in the study. Of those, 45 percent were African American, 40 percent were Latino and 20 percent were women. About one-third did not graduate from high school, approximately 75 percent had a history of homelessness and half had used drugs in the previous 30 days. In addition, 45 percent were uninsured and 75 percent had one or more unmet social-service need. In the six months p
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