HealthcAre sUppoRt fOr Remote HIV pAtients: Use of an App to Support HIV+ Patients to Ensure Continuity of Care and Assess Its Impact on Therapy Adherence and Quality of Life

Since the first cases were reported more than 35 years ago, 78 million people have been infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Currently, the availability of TARV regimens associated with good tolerability and high levels of efficacy make it necessary to turn attention toward new standards of efficacy indicative of patients' mental and physical well-being. Indeed, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is becoming increasingly preponderant as a therapeutic outcome. Despite TARV-related viroimmunologic success, people living with HIV (PLWH) continue to have lower HRQoL than the general population. Indeed, much evidence confirms the impact on quality of life not only of therapeutic treatments but also of social and relationship issues and comorbidities. Improving HRQoL is now, therefore, a primary goal for the care and support of PLWH.

Evaluations of new treatments and interventions to improve care, therefore, require the measurement, in addition to clinical endpoints, of HRQoL using valid and reliable instruments. Therefore, the importance of PROs (Patient Reported Outcomes), which represent the description of the patient's own reported state of health, without any interpretation by clinicians or health care personnel, emerges in this area. In this way, the patient is directly involved in his or her own process of care.

Adherence to TARV is essential for successful treatment and improved quality of life. Unfortunately, non-adherence to treatment is a common problem among HIV-infected patients.

The Covid-19 emergence has significantly revolutionized the health care system leading to the implementation of new modes of care, including the use of technological tools to ensure remote medical care.