Abstract
Background: Increase patients' life expectancy with quality of life remains as prime objectives of HIV/AIDS treatment. However it is well established that HIV/AIDS patients faces many challenges in adhering to their treatment due to many factors including adverse drug effects, social support, proper medical care including counseling, etc. Greater involvement of patients into their medical care will help in improving these outcomes. Therefore assessing patients' understanding and expectations should be an important aspect in HIV/AIDS management.
Discussion: Experts argue on importance of patient perspective evaluations and their effectiveness in shaping medical practice. However many evidences in favor of such evaluations have suggested that such measures are robust and useful indicators of quality health services. Whether OR not one accepts this argument it is still one of the prime responsibilities of health care providers to help their patient with provision of best services. In order to achieve these quality assessment of HIV/AIDS patients understanding is imperative since studies have shown that patient understandings and beliefs do affect health related outcomes.
Summary: Assessment of HIV/AIDS patients' understandings and expectations toward disease, treatment and care provided can help in finding issues which later can be incorporated into patient care. This may help in addressing issues of non-adherence. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been used in assessing patients' perspective, however the focus should not be only on individual methodologies but how to use and improve such explorations so that it can be indicative of meaningful quality measures. (C) 2013 Polish AIDS Research Society. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o. o. All rights reserved.