UPTAKE OF MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS IN WOMEN WITH HIV-INFECTION IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND

Objective: To determine the uptake of medical interventions amongst wo men known to be HIV positive and in contact with service providers. Su bjects: 400 HIV positive women from 15 STD/HIV clinics in Britain and Ireland recruited to the MRC collaborative study of HIV infection in w omen between June 1992 and August 1994. Methods: Data obtained prospec tively through direct questioning of all women by a physician or resea rch nurse and review of medical and laboratory records. Data recorded on standardised forms and analysed centrally. Results: Nearly one quar ter (24%) of women with an AIDS diagnosis had never received Pneumocys tis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis, and 24% had never received any anti retroviral therapy. Fewer than two-thirds of black African women had h ad a chest radiograph. Only one woman had received Pneumovax and only 4% of women had ever taken part in a clinical trial. Conclusions: A su bstantial proportion of women with HIV infection did not receive inter ventions of proven benefit, and participation in clinical trials was v ery uncommon. The reasons for such poor uptake should be explored amon g both health care workers and women with HIV infection.