Flexibility versus Simplicity: A Comparative Study of Survival Models for HIV AIDS Failure Rates

Modeling HIV/AIDS progression is critical for understanding disease dynamics and improving patient care. This study compares the Exponential and Weibull survival models, focusing on their ability to capture state-specific failure rates in HIV/AIDS progression. While the Exponential model offers simplicity with a constant hazard rate, it often fails to accommodate the complexities of dynamic disease progression. In contrast, the Weibull model provides flexibility by allowing hazard rates to vary over time. Both models are evaluated within the frameworks of the Cox Proportional Hazards (Cox PH) and Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) models, incorporating critical covariates such as age, gender, CD4 count, and ART status. Statistical evaluation metrics, including Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), log-likelihood, and Pseudo-R², were employed to assess model performance across diverse patient subgroups. Results indicate that the Weibull model consistently outperforms the Exponential model in dynamic scenarios, such as younger patients and those with co-infections, while maintaining robustness in stable contexts. This study highlights the trade-off between flexibility and simplicity in survival modeling, advocating for tailored model selection to balance interpretability and predictive accuracy. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing HIV/AIDS management strategies and advancing survival analysis methodologies.