Background HIV-infected parents face the challenge of caring for their children while coping with a disease that may lead to their incapacitation or death. Parents may find the guardianship planning process challenging while managing their own illness. In contrast to past studies that were limited to convenience samples, we used nationally representative data to describe guardianship planning among HIV-infected parents. Methods The Sample Respondents participated in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), which selected a national probability sample of people at least 18 years old with known HIV infection in the contiguous United States during the first two months of This article draws on two waves of data collected from January April 1997 (baseline) and from December June 1997 (follow-up). Measures Child-level outcomes (from follow-up survey): Level of guardianship planning 1) parent had not identified a guardian 2) parent had identified a guardian, but guardian had not agreed 3) guardian had agreed 4) legal documentation of guardianship plan was complete Preferred guardian 1) other biological parent 2) spouse/partner who is not biological parent 3) grandparent 4) other relative 5) parent’s friend 6) unrelated adoption 7) other Predictor variables Parent age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, annual household income, exposure/risk group, year of HIV diagnosis, hospital stays, lowest CD4 counts, use of HAART, living situation, language preference, metropolitan statistical area, geographic region, child age and HIV status. Guardianship Planning Among HIV-Infected Parents in the United States: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample Burton O. Cowgill, MPH 1,2 ; Megan K. Beckett, PhD 3 ; Rosalie Corona, PhD 4 ; Marc N. Elliott, PhD 3 ; Michelle T. Parra, PhD 5 ; Annie J. Zhou, MS 3 ; Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD 1,2,3 1 Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 2 Department of Health Services, School of Public Health at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 3 RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA 4 Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 5 Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA Results Only 28% of unmarried HIV-infected parents had a legally documented guardianship plan in place for their children, while 53% of parents had identified a guardian that agreed to care for their children, but had not prepared a legal document. [Table 2]. Parents with the lowest CD4 counts (0-49/mm³) and parents living without other adults in the household were more likely to have completed the guardianship planning process [Table 2]. Parents listed grandparents (36%) and other relatives (34%) as the preferred guardians [Table 3]. Discussion Nearly three-quarters of children of HIV-infected parents are at risk for an unstable transition after their parent's death. By assuring that a formal guardianship plan is in place, parents can prevent their children from experiencing added hardships at an already difficult time. Parents may need assistance drafting a will or stand-by guardianship agreement that details their choice for a preferred guardian. Parents with the lowest CD4 counts were more likely to have completed a guardianship plan. As parents’ health declines, they may feel it is more important to formalize plans for their children’s future. Parents living with other adults in the household were less likely to have completed the guardianship planning process. Perhaps these parents assumed the other adults, such as a grandparent or another relative, would assume guardianship of the children upon the parent’s death. A formal guardianship plan would make sure the preferred guardian was granted custody of the child. Clinicians and others who treat HIV-infected parents may be able to provide counseling and referrals to assist parents in the guardianship planning process. Acknowledgments This study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RO1 HD40103), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U48/DP000056). The original data collection was supported by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (U-01HS08578). We are indebted to Jacinta Elijah, BA, Theresa Nguyen, BS, and Jennifer Patch, BA, for research assistance. We also wish to thank the HCSUS Consortium for making the study possible and the study participants for sharing their time and stories. TABLE 1: Participant Characteristics Parent Variables (N=222)Value* Female83% Mean Age33.5 years Race/Ethnicity African American58% Latino21% White/Other21% Education Some high school41% High school graduate31% Some college25% College graduate4% Exposure/Risk Group IDU**24% MSM***5% Heterosexual57% Other14% Lowest CD4 Count HIV(-)/Unknown Status ≥500/mm³27% /mm³42% /mm³20% 0-49/mm³11% Live With Other Adults57% Child Variables (N=391)Value Average Age8.7 years HIV-negative/Unknown92% *Percents are weighted **IDU: Injection drug users ***MSM: men who had sex with men Analyses Multivariate ordered logistic regression (OLR) analyses were used for the guardianship planning outcome. We included predictors for which bivariate OLR analyses on the overall sample had 2-sided p-values of <0.20. We report whether each category of a given variable differed significantly from the corresponding omitted category with a Wald t-test. All analyses employ modifications of HCSUS weights that incorporate the number of children within families and account for this and other aspects of the complex sample design, including the clustering of children within families, using STATA survey commands. VariableGuardian not identified (%) Identified a guardian (%) Guardian agreed (%) Legal document prepared (%) OR (95% CI) Total Sample Parent Characteristics Lowest CD4 Count ## ≥500/mm³ (0.1, 0.9)* /mm³ (0.1, 0.6)** /mm³ (0.1, 0.9)* 0-49/mm³ Living Situation # With adult/s Without adults (1.0, 3.6)* Language Preference # English Spanish (0.2, 2.4) Child Characteristics HIV Status # HIV-positive (0.9, 7.1) HIV-negative/Unknown # indicates that percentages differ across the subgroups at p<.05 within the bivariate ordinal logistic regression; ## p<.01; ### p<.001 p<.05 for Wald t test within the ordinal logistic regression comparing the indicated category with the omitted category; ** p<.01; *** p<.001. For these analyses, 222 parents provided responses for 391 children. TABLE 2:Selected Bivariate Results and Multivariate Ordered Logistic Regression for Unmarried HIV-Infected Parents’ Level of Guardianship Planning Relationship to Child (Unweighted N=341)Weighted % Other biological parent 17 Spouse/Partner who is not biological parent 2 Grandparent 36 Other relative 34 Parents’ friend 7 Unrelated adoption 1 Other 3 Table 3: Unmarried HIV-Infected Parents’ Preferred Choice for Child’s Guardian