Trajectory of Physical Functioning Among Persons Living With HIV in Nursing Homes.

Only residents who stayed at least 90 days and had at least 2 assessments were included, so shorter stays are not represented. Residents with little or no ADL impairment at admission were excluded, so the findings do not describe residents who start with high function. Residents with a documented prognosis of 6 months or less or hospice enrollment were excluded. HIV identification depended on MDS and Medicaid claims; in 5 states HIV data were not sent to CMS, so only Medicaid-eligible residents could be captured there. The study did not compare residents with HIV to HIV-negative nursing home residents, so it cannot say whether HIV itself changed the ADL trajectory. Some residents may have received physical or occupational therapy at admission, but the study did not measure or control for that. The significance statement for the oldest group labels the comparison in a way that conflicts with the reported probabilities, so the direction of that specific result should be read from the probability values. This was an observational study, so unmeasured differences between residents could explain the pattern.

The supplied text does not include a conflict-of-interest declaration. The publication types indicate NIH extramural research support.

Do not read the 44% improvement as proof that nursing home care, HIV care, or therapy caused better function. The study was observational, did not compare residents with HIV to HIV-negative residents, and did not measure which residents received physical or occupational therapy.