Assessment of the organization of care in SUS outpatient services for the treatment of HIV infection in Brazil: Qualiaids 2023 survey

• Grant number: 24/22070-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Maria Ines Battistella Nemes
• Grantee: Sophia Furucho Rabelo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/08543-5 - Implementation of the Policy for Quality Monitoring and Improvement (QMI) of the Brazilian National Health System's (SUS) Outpatient Facilities Providing Care to People Living With HIV/Aids: Qualiaids Project, AP.PP

Abstract

The success of HIV infection treatment with medication, measured by achieving and maintaining undetectable levels of circulating virus (viral load), depends on the timely initiation and lifelong adherence to treatment by the patient. The treatment service is, therefore, a necessary and lifelong bond for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The quality of care provided by health services, which is important for all diseases, also contributes, in the case of chronic infectious diseases like HIV, to reducing community transmission of the infection. However, the quality of care provided by health services is not uniform, especially in large countries like Brazil. A key part of quality depends on the organization of care, that is, on how care is offered and managed. Good organizational quality influences the likelihood of achieving both positive clinical outcomes and ensuring patient safety and a positive experience, which are the pillars of quality care. Today, in Brazil, around 1,300 SUS services provide care to people undergoing HIV/AIDS treatment. Previous records show a heterogeneous set of care configurations. These are teams assisting people in treatment, integrated within primary care units, specialty clinics, specialized HIV/AIDS outpatient services, specialty outpatient clinics, and hospitals. The number of people treated in these services ranges from just one to over a thousand people, and the forms of care organization and technical management vary as well. This information was collected in national surveys answered by services in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2017 using the Qualiaids Questionnaire, developed, validated, and updated successively to assess the organization of HIV/AIDS care. In 2022, the questionnaire was updated and revalidated by the original research team. The national survey with the new version, Qualiaids-2023, forms the core of the methodology of the PPP project, within which this master's study is embedded.The study will describe the quality of HIV/AIDS outpatient care organization in SUS services throughout Brazil and will analyze the association of quality with the administrative characteristics of the service and the municipality where it is located. The results are expected to support the improvement and maintenance of SUS's HIV quality policy. The results will be published through the media channels of the Ministry of Health and the research group. Data will be made available according to the data management plan of the overall PPP project.