Employee Commitment to the AIDS Service Organization: A Study of the Comprehensive AIDS Program in Palm Beach County, Florida
This study analyzes factors affecting employees' commitment to the AIDS Service Organization (ASO). Based on a survey in a community-based ASO, the study reveals that these employees have a high level of commitment to their organization and that their trust and confidence in the organization and dissatisfaction with government's involvement are two major determinants of their commitment. Implications concerning the results of this study are discussed.
AIDS case management: the client's perspective.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's AIDS Health Services Program uses case management to provide community-based care for people with AIDS. This article reports data concerning implementation of case management, based on interviews with program clients in nine communities. Some clients receive case management from a community-based organization (CBO), while others have clinic-based case managers. Clinic clients are more likely to be disadvantaged. Over 25 percent of respondents report having no case manager at either site, and 10 percent report having two case managers. Those who need social services are more likely to have a case manager. Between 18 and 25 percent have had no contact with their case manager in a month, but over 50 percent have had multiple contacts. Frequency of contact is positively related to having needs for social services. Evaluations of case managers are favorable, but there is some dissatisfaction with ease of access. Having a case manager is positively related to having service needs met. Results suggest that (1) efforts to coordinate care through case management must deal with the existence of clinics and CBOs as distinct treatment sites with differing clientele, and (2) explicit policies concerning eligibility for case management and frequency of monitoring must be developed.
Hospital charges for people with AIDS in Washington State: utilization of a statewide hospital discharge data base.
We analyzed Washington State inpatient hospital utilization for 165 AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) cases with 344 hospitalizations from July 1984 through December 1985. We found that mean charges per hospitalization were $9,166 and mean length of stay was 13.3 days. In addition, evaluation of two diagnosis-related groups (DRGs 079 and 398) commonly used for AIDS hospitalizations showed that AIDS hospitalizations were substantially more expensive than non-AIDS hospitalizations within the same diagnosis-related group. AIDS-specific diagnosis-related groups may be necessary to achieve a balance between inpatient charges and reimbursements.