Treating loss-to-follow-up as a missing data problem: a case study using a longitudinal cohort of HIV-infected patients in Haiti

摘要

BackgroundHIV programs are often assessed by the proportion of patients who are alive and retained in care; however some patients are categorized as lost to follow-up (LTF) and have unknown vital status. LTF is not an outcome but a mixed category of patients who have undocumented death, transfer and disengagement from care. Estimating vital status (dead versus alive) among this category is critical for survival analyses and program evaluation.