Delayed Medical Care After Diagnosis in a US National Probability Sample of Persons Infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

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Abstract
DELAYED MEDICAL care after the first seropositive test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevents patients from receiving medical therapies that may preserve the immune system and reduce the risk of serious disease-related complications. Unfortunately, delays of several months or longer between the diagnosis of HIV infection and first medical care for HIV may be common.1-3 However, our understanding of this problem comes from analyses of convenience samples of patients that do not offer a national view of patient and health care factors related to delay.