Attitudes Toward Health Care Providers and Appointment Attendance in HIV/AIDS Patients

Patients with HIV/AIDS are likely to have numerous interactions with health care providers (HCPs) during the course of their disease. Research has shown that satisfaction with one’s HCP is related to better medication adherence in patients with HIV/AIDS. Although a patient’s attitude toward his or her HCP is important, little has been done to assess how it relates to appointment attendance. The current study assessed how attitudes toward HCPs as well as social support and depression relate to outpatient appointment attendance. Further, this study used a newly developed, psychometrically valid scale to assess specific patient attitudes toward HCPs including those related to disease stigma. Participants were predominantly low-income African American men (N = 109) recruited from a public southern HIV clinic. Analyses indicated that attitudes toward HIV HCPs, social support, and medication status but not depression or satisfaction with social support were associated with appointment attendance.

Key words: HIV, appointment attendance, adherence, patient-provider relationship, attitude