Home care is influencing the management of AIDS patients by providing a cost-effective, beneficial alternative to hospital-based care. As the number of AIDS patients and the associated health care costs increase, home care for these patients will continue to expand. In the USA, deaths due to AIDS in patients who are at home or in hospices and nursing homes has increased since 1983, whilst the percentage of AIDS deaths in hospital decreased from 92% in 1983 to 57% in 1991 (from a total of 55 186 patients with AIDS who died between 1983-1991). In 1988, 23% of deaths occurred at home or in hospices and nursing homes. This trend is more evident in white, homosexual men; less so in people with other modes of exposure, and not at all evident in intravenous drug users and children with perinatally acquired AIDS. 2 These trends may reflect changes in hospital use for end-stage HIV infection. Decreasing hospitalisation and increasing outpatient services and home care will decrease costs and may allow HIV infected people to have improved social contact and quality of life. 2 It is estimated that the life cost of caring for one person with advanced AIDS is approximately US$61 800. 3 Apart from the costs which are higher in hospitalised compared to home patients, home care improves the quality of life (QL). The well-being of patients who require nursing is dependent upon a number of factors. These include: the quality, activity and diversity of their social network; competence and deficiencies of their own performance; the history of illness and subjective health status; interpretation of, and ability to cope with, their illness; domestic surroundings and socio-demographic position; lifestyle and prophylactic behaviour; ideas, opinions and convictions relating to the alternatives of home care or nursing homes. 4 The benefits which should be highlighted for home care patients compared with those in old people's or nursing homes include the facilitation and/or encouragement of greater personal freedom and well-being. Furthermore, increased active and passive social contact means that patients are not simply resigned to their situation. 4 Therefore, home care and consequently home artificial nutrition (HAN) (both enteral and parenteral) may play a role in decreasing the expensive maintenance of AIDS patients in hospital and ameliorate their QL.