# Challenges and opportunities in monitoring the long-term well-being of people with HIV in Spain

## TL;DR

This study examines how well Spain's health systems monitor the long-term health of people living with HIV, highlighting challenges and opportunities for improvement.

## Contribution

The study provides a novel evaluation of Spain's health information systems for monitoring multimorbidity in people with HIV using interdisciplinary frameworks.

## Key findings

- Spain's health systems face gaps in systematically monitoring comorbidities among people with HIV.
- Technical and interoperability challenges hinder effective data collection and use in health data systems.
- Improved data standardization and coordination are needed for better chronic care management.

## Abstract

Thanks to antiretroviral therapy, people living with HIV have an increased life expectancy, but face multimorbidity challenges while ageing. This study aimed to evaluate the monitoring capabilities of Spain’s subnational and national health information systems in addressing the multimorbidity needs of people with HIV (PHIV).

Employing 7 semi-structured focus groups discussions of 20 total participants through purposive sampling of relevant professional profiles recruited by the Spanish Interdisciplinary AIDS Society (SEISIDA), we thematically analysed the discussions using two theoretical frameworks: the World Health Organization health systems building blocks and the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model. Content was validated via participant follow-up and triangulation with publicly available data.

Participant feedback revealed ongoing challenges and capacities within the Spanish health information system for collecting, reporting, and using multimorbidity information among PHIV, including gaps in systematic monitoring of comorbidities, including mental health, technical and interoperability challenges in health data systems, and the need for improved data collection and coordination strategies.

Our findings underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach to health monitoring for chronic care management and the critical role of data standardization and systematization towards improved patient care and public health goal-setting.