Symptom Profile and Technology Use of Persons Living With HIV Who Access Services at a Community-Based Organization in the Deep South.
Rebecca Schnall, Karen Musgrove, D Scott Batey
PMID 30908348WHAT IT FOUND
People living with HIV at a Deep South community organization reported muscle aches or joint pain as the most frequent and bothersome symptom, followed by fatigue, sleep difficulties, neuropathy, and depressive symptoms.
Smartphone use was high, but no app was tested.
Key findings
01Muscle aches or joint pain was the most frequently reported and most bothersome symptom, followed by fatigue, sleep difficulties, neuropathy, and depressive symptoms.
02PROMIS-29 subscale means ranged from 46 to 55.2, with physical functioning and pain interference worse than average.
03Participants' mean eHealth literacy score was 27.5, on a scale from 8 to 40.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Recruitment was from a waiting area at one community organization, so it may not represent people living with HIV outside that setting. The survey was delivered on an iPad, so participants may have been more comfortable with technology than people who did not take part. The paper says the survey was distributed to 150 patients, but 154 completed it, so the sample flow is unclear. The sleep disturbance score had very low internal consistency, so that subscale should be interpreted with caution. The study described symptoms and technology access; it did not test whether a mobile self-management tool reduced symptoms.
Declared interests
The authors declared no real or perceived vested interests that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a mobile symptom self-management app was tested or shown to improve symptoms in this sample. The paper measured symptoms and technology access only.