For the last few months, I had been working on an analysis describing medical care utilization among people with diagnosed HIV infection in the United States. Seeking HIV medical care regularly has been associated with a number of positive clinical outcomes, including receipt of and adherence to antiretroviral therapy, a key component in achieving and maintaining viral suppression. Sustained viral suppression prolongs life among persons with HIV -- in other words, as long as someone who has diagnosed HIV infection is in HIV care and takes his/her medications, he/she can live a long, healthy life. Although we have come a long way since the 1980s when scientists knew very little about HIV, including how to diagnosis and treat the infection.
In the analysis I had been working on, I examined retention in HIV care over a three year period, and investigated any differences across racial/ethnic groups. Usually, retention in HIV care is presented annually since it can be difficult to follow people clinically for multiple years. This is the advantage of having access to national HIV surveillance data -- even when a patient changes providers, or even moves across state lines, CDC should receive data on that person's clinical care.
I summarized the findings in an article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), in observance of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). We found that regardless of transmission category or sex, blacks/African Americans were less consistently in HIV care compared to other racial/ethnic groups. These differences in retention in HIV care were established in the first year of care after receiving a diagnosis.
Occasionally, there will be some press on MMWR articles. Although I didn't have any New York Times reporters contact me, the findings of the paper were highlighted in the media a few times:
1. Medicalresearch.com
2. Medscape
3. Aidsmap
...and others.
Yay for making small differences! In any case, this paper not only highlights the clear disparities in the HIV continuum across race/ethnicity (which has already been shown) but also emphasizes the importance of monitoring patterns in HIV medical care utilization over multiple years, not just annually. Once people have been established in care, they're more likely to continue seeking care. The key is to continue to work with state and local health departments and medical providers to identify barriers to HIV care, increasing the number of people who begin and continue care, and linking people who are not currently receiving care back into medical care.
In the analysis I had been working on, I examined retention in HIV care over a three year period, and investigated any differences across racial/ethnic groups. Usually, retention in HIV care is presented annually since it can be difficult to follow people clinically for multiple years. This is the advantage of having access to national HIV surveillance data -- even when a patient changes providers, or even moves across state lines, CDC should receive data on that person's clinical care.
I summarized the findings in an article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), in observance of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). We found that regardless of transmission category or sex, blacks/African Americans were less consistently in HIV care compared to other racial/ethnic groups. These differences in retention in HIV care were established in the first year of care after receiving a diagnosis.
Occasionally, there will be some press on MMWR articles. Although I didn't have any New York Times reporters contact me, the findings of the paper were highlighted in the media a few times:
1. Medicalresearch.com
2. Medscape
3. Aidsmap
...and others.
Yay for making small differences! In any case, this paper not only highlights the clear disparities in the HIV continuum across race/ethnicity (which has already been shown) but also emphasizes the importance of monitoring patterns in HIV medical care utilization over multiple years, not just annually. Once people have been established in care, they're more likely to continue seeking care. The key is to continue to work with state and local health departments and medical providers to identify barriers to HIV care, increasing the number of people who begin and continue care, and linking people who are not currently receiving care back into medical care.
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