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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 8(2)

Evaluation of Health Map: a patient-centred web-based service for supporting HIV-infected patients

Deepa G. Gamage A B , Mohsin Sidat C , Tim Read A D , Rosey Cummings A , Catriona S. Bradshaw A E , Kerri Howley A , Glenda Fehler A , Jun Kit Sze A , Marcus Chen A D and Christopher K. Fairley A D F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, 580 Swanston Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053, Australia.

B Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, 231 De Saram Place, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.

C Faculty of Medicine, University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.

D School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic. 3053, Australia.

E Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Monash, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: cfairley@mshc.org.au

Sexual Health 8(2) 194-198 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH10072
Submitted: 16 June 2010  Accepted: 4 August 2010   Published: 18 May 2011

Abstract

Background: Our aim was to describe the use of and responses to a self-management website, ‘Health Map’, established to address the key chronic health issues of HIV-positive people. Methods: Health Map assessed health issues against current recommendations for: treatment adherence, monitoring CD4 counts and viral load, psychological health and physical activity, vaccination, cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, and cervical screening for women and sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening for men who have sex with men (MSM). Results: A total of 552 people, with a mean age of 37 years, completed the full ‘Health Map’ program, of whom 536 (97%) were Australian, 425 (77%) were male, including 268 (63%) MSM. Online responses to several health indices were of concern: 49% missed at least one dose of antiretroviral therapy per month and only 41% had had an HIV viral load test in the 4 months prior. Only 43% reported regular physical activity, and 49% and 61% reported vaccination for hepatitis A and B. The proportion tested within the recommended periods for fasting cholesterol (40%), fasting blood sugar (35%) and cervical screening (43%) in women or STI screening for MSM (53%) were low. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of individuals completing the online survey reported information that would suggest their HIV and more general health care is suboptimal. These data are consistent with community surveys and indicate the need for improvement in the chronic management of HIV.

Graphical Abstract Image

Additional keywords: AIDS, Australia, chronic disease, diabetes, hepatitis, self-management.


Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Afrizal and Mark Chung from the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre for extracting the data, and the Department of Human Services Victoria for the HIV community grant to set up this website. We are also grateful for the advice from people living with HIV and AIDS.


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