Measuring the HIV Care Continuum Using Public Health Surveillance Data in the United States

Interventions for Integrating Behavioral Health into HIV Settings for US Adults: A Narrative Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, 2010-2020

Mental health and substance use disorders can negatively affect physical health, illness management, care access, and quality of life. These behavioral health conditions are prevalent and undertreated among people with HIV and may worsen outcomes along the entire HIV Care Continuum. This narrative review of tested interventions for integrating care for HIV and behavioral health disorders summarizes and contextualizes findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses conducted in the past decade. We sought to identify gaps in research that hinder implementing evidence-based integrated care approaches. Using terms from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-Health Resources & Services Administration standard framework for integrated health care, we searched PubMed and PsycInfo to identify peer-reviewed systematic reviews or meta-analyses of intervention studies to integrate behavioral health and HIV published between 2010 and 2020. Among 23 studies identified, only reviews and meta-analyses that described interventions from the United States designed to integrate BH services into HIV settings for adults were retained, leaving six studies for narrative review by the study team. Demonstrated benefits from the relatively small literature on integrated care interventions include improved patient- and service-level outcomes, particularly for in-person case management and outreach interventions. Needed are systems-level integration interventions with assessments of long-term outcomes on behavioral health symptoms, HIV viral suppression, HIV transmission rates, and mortality. HIV, primary care, and other providers must include behavioral health as a part of overall healthcare and must play a central role in behavioral health care delivery. Research is needed to guide their way.

A novel use of HIV surveillance and court data to understand and improve care among a population of people with HIV experiencing criminal charges in North Carolina 2017-2020

Objectives Objectives

To enumerate the population of people with HIV (PWH) with criminal charges and to estimate associations between charges and HIV outcomes.

Methods

We linked statewide North Carolina criminal court records to confidential HIV records (both 2017-2020) to identify a population of defendants with diagnosed HIV. We used generalized estimating equations to examine changes in viral suppression (outcome) pre-post criminal charges (exposure), adjusting for other demographic and legal system factors.

Results

9,534 PWH experienced criminal charges. Compared to others with charges, PWH were more likely to be male and report Black race. The median duration of unresolved charges was longer for PWH. When adjusting for demographic factors, the period following resolution of charges was modestly associated with an increased risk of viral suppression (aRR 1.03 (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.04) compared to the pre-charge period.

Conclusions

A significant portion of PWH in NC had criminal charges during a three-year period, and these charges went unresolved for a longer time than those without HIV. These preliminary findings raise questions regarding whether PWH have appropriate access to legal services.

Enhancing the ATra Black Box Matching Algorithm: Use of All Names for Deduplication Across Jurisdictions

OBJECTIVES

Achieving accurate, timely, and complete HIV surveillance data is complicated in the United States by migration and care seeking across jurisdictional boundaries. To address these issues, public health entities use the ATra Black Box-a secure, electronic, privacy-assuring system developed by Georgetown University-to identify and confirm potential duplicate case records, exchange data, and perform other analytics to improve the quality of data in the Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS). We aimed to evaluate the ability of 2 ATra software algorithms to identify potential duplicate case-pairs across 6 jurisdictions for people living with diagnosed HIV.

METHODS

We implemented 2 matching algorithms for identifying potential duplicate case-pairs in ATra software. The Single Name Matching Algorithm examines only 1 name for a person, whereas the All Names Matching Algorithm examines all names in eHARS for a person. Six public health jurisdictions used the algorithms. We compared outputs for the overall number of potential matches and changes in matching level.

RESULTS

The All Names Matching Algorithm found more matches than the Single Name Matching Algorithm and increased levels of match. The All Names Matching Algorithm identified 9070 (4.5%) more duplicate matches than the Single Name Matching Algorithm (n = 198 828) and increased the total number of matches at the exact through high levels by 15.4% (from 167 156 to 192 932; n = 25 776).

CONCLUSIONS

HIV data quality across multiple jurisdictions can be improved by using all known first and last names of people living with diagnosed HIV that match with eHARS rather than using only 1 first and last name.

HIV Health literacy beyond the biomedical model: an innovative visual learning tool to highlight the psychosocial complexities of care

The HIV care continuum represents a linear clinical pathway from testing to viral suppression; however, it does not capture the psychosocial complexities of contemporary HIV care. We developed an innovative and appealing visual learning resource to extend the scope of HIV health literacy beyond biomedical constructs. Based on the lived experiences of recently diagnosed people living with HIV in Queensland, the "Journeys through the HIV Care Continuum" Map presents the continuum as a complex journey incorporating challenges such as poor health literacy, health service access and stigma alongside facilitators to care, including emotional and peer support. Designed for audiences who may not access academic literature, the Map can be used to facilitate conversations between recently diagnosed people living with HIV and peer navigators, and as a learning tool for health professionals, carers and students. The Map highlights opportunities to support PLHIV in meaningful ways that will reduce stigma and promote care access.

A Framework for Descriptive Epidemiology

In this paper, we propose a framework for thinking through the design and conduct of descriptive epidemiologic studies. A well-defined descriptive question aims to quantify and characterize some feature of the health of a population and must clearly state: 1) the target population, characterized by person and place, and anchored in time; 2) the outcome, event, or health state or characteristic; and 3) the measure of occurrence that will be used to summarize the outcome (e.g., incidence, prevalence, average time to event, etc.). Additionally, 4) any auxiliary variables will be prespecified and their roles as stratification factors (to characterize the outcome distribution) or nuisance variables (to be standardized over) will be stated. We illustrate application of this framework to describe the prevalence of viral suppression on December 31, 2019, among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who had been linked to HIV care in the United States. Application of this framework highlights biases that may arise from missing data, especially 1) differences between the target population and the analytical sample; 2) measurement error; 3) competing events, late entries, loss to follow-up, and inappropriate interpretation of the chosen measure of outcome occurrence; and 4) inappropriate adjustment.

HIV Infection: Time from Diagnosis to Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy in Portugal, a Multicentric Study

The benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for persons living with HIV (PLWH) are well established. Rapid ART initiation can lead to improved clinical outcomes. Portugal has one of the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses in the European Union, and an average time until ART initiation above the recommendations established by the national guideline according to data from the first two years after its implementation in 2015, with no more recent data available after that. This study aimed to evaluate time from the first hospital appointment until ART initiation among newly diagnosed HIV patients in Portugal between 2017 and 2018, to investigate differences between hospitals, and to understand the experience of patient associations in supporting the navigation of PLWH throughout referral and linkage to the therapeutic process. To answer to these objectives, a twofold design was followed: a quantitative approach, with an analysis of records from five Portuguese hospitals, and a qualitative approach, with individual interviews with three representatives of patient associations. Overall, 847 and 840 PLWH initiated ART in 2017 and in 2018, respectively, 21 days (median of the two years) after the first appointment, with nearly half coming outside the mainstream service for hospital referral, and with observed differences between hospitals. In 2017-2018, only 38.0% of PLWH initiated ART in less than 14 days after the first hospital appointment. From the interviews, barriers of administrative and psychosocial nature were identified that may hinder access to ART. Patient associations work to offer a tailored support to patients' navigation within the health system, which can help to reduce or overcome those potential barriers. Indicators related to time until ART initiation can be used to monitor and improve access to specialized care of PLWH.

Visualizing complex healthcare disparities: proof of concept for representing a cyclical continuum of care model for a retrospective cohort of patients with musculoskeletal infections

Background

Care continuum models (also known as care cascade models) are used by researchers and health system planners to identify potential gaps or disparities in healthcare, but these models have limited applications to complex or chronic clinical conditions. Cyclical continuum models that integrate more complex clinical information and that are displayed using circular data visualization tools may help to overcome these limitations. We performed proof-of-concept cyclical continuum modeling for one such group of conditions—musculoskeletal infections—and assessed for racial and ethnic disparities across the complex care process related to these infections.

Methods

Cyclical continuum modeling was performed in a diverse, retrospective cohort of 1648 patients with musculoskeletal infections, including osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and/or infectious myositis, in the University of New Mexico Health System. Logistic regression was used to estimate the relative odds of each element or outcome of care in the continuum. Results were visualized using circularized, map-like images depicting the continuum of care.

Results

Racial and ethnic disparities differed at various phases in the care process. Hispanic/Latinx patients had evidence of healthcare disparities across the continuum, including diabetes mellitus [odds ratio (OR) 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.61, 2.60 compared to a white non-Hispanic reference category]; osteomyelitis (OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.63); and amputation (OR 1.48; 95% CI: 1.10, 2.00). Native American patients had evidence of disparities early in the continuum (diabetes mellitus OR 3.59, 95% CI: 2.63, 4.89; peripheral vascular disease OR 2.50; 95% CI: 1.45, 4.30; osteomyelitis OR 1.43; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.95) yet lower odds of later-stage complications (amputation OR 1.02; 95% CI: 0.69, 1.52). African American/Black non-Hispanic patients had higher odds of primary risk factors (diabetes mellitus OR 2.70; 95% CI: 1.41, 5.19; peripheral vascular disease OR 4.96; 95% CI: 2.06, 11.94) and later-stage outcomes (amputation OR 2.74; 95% CI: 1.38, 5.45) but not intervening, secondary risk factors (osteomyelitis OR 0.79; 95% CI: 0.42, 1.48).

Conclusions

By identifying different structural and clinical barriers to care that may be experienced by groups of patients interacting with the healthcare system, cyclical continuum modeling may be useful for the study of healthcare disparities.

The HIV care cascade in Manitoba, Canada: Methods, measures, and estimates to meet local needs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

We describe the development of the first HIV care cascade for Manitoba, Canada, detailing steps taken to establish indicator definitions for each cascade step, and derive a full complement of local estimates.

METHODS

Manitoba is a Canadian Prairie Province with disproportionately high annual HIV incidence. In 2013, a clinical cohort of people living with HIV was established within the primary HIV care program in Manitoba. Using cohort data from 2017, we describe the creation of a set of indicator definitions and calculate estimates for each cascade step to create the first Manitoban cascade model.

RESULTS

Of the 703 cohort participants categorized as alive and diagnosed, 638 (90.8%) were in care, 606 (86.2%) retained in care, 573 (81.5%) on treatment, and 523 (74.4%) virologically suppressed. The greatest point of leakage occurred between the first and second steps; 9.3% of those alive and diagnosed in 2017 were not in care in the same calendar year.

CONCLUSION

This is the first comprehensive examination of HIV clinical epidemiology in Manitoba using a cascade framework, with the potential inform programming to improve service coverage within Manitoba and significantly contribute to evidence informing provincial policies to support these efforts.

"Is a Bird in the Hand Worth 5 in the Bush?": A Comparison of 3 Data-to-Care Referral Strategies on HIV Care Continuum Outcomes in San Francisco

Background

Health departments utilize HIV surveillance data to identify people with HIV (PWH) who need re-linkage to HIV care as part of an approach known as Data to Care (D2C.) The most accurate, effective, and efficient method of identifying PWH for re-linkage is unknown.

Methods

We evaluated referral and care continuum outcomes among PWH identified using 3 D2C referral strategies: health care providers, surveillance, and a combination list derived by matching an electronic medical record registry to HIV surveillance. PWH who were enrolled in the re-linkage intervention received short-term case management for up to 90 days. Relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to compare proportions of PWH retained and virally suppressed before and after re-linkage. Durable viral suppression was defined as having suppressed viral loads at all viral load measurements in the 12 months after re-linkage.

Results

After initial investigation, 233 (24%) of 954 referrals were located and enrolled in navigation. Although the numbers of surveillance and provider referrals were similar, 72% of enrolled PWH were identified by providers, 16% by surveillance, and 12% by combination list. Overall, retention and viral suppression improved, although relative increases in retention and viral suppression were only significant among individuals identified by surveillance or providers. Seventy percent of PWH who achieved viral suppression after the intervention remained durably virally suppressed.

Conclusions

PWH referred by providers were more likely to be located and enrolled in navigation than PWH identified by surveillance or combination lists. Overall, D2C re-linkage efforts improved retention, viral suppression, and durable viral suppression.

Evaluating HIV Surveillance Completeness Along the Continuum of Care: Supplementing Surveillance With Health Center Data to Increase HIV Data to Care Efficiency

BACKGROUND

HIV surveillance is essential to quantifying the impact of the epidemic and shaping HIV programs. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) historically conducted HIV Data to Care (D2C) activities using surveillance data to identify individuals who were not in HIV care; however, most case investigations concluded that the individuals in question were currently engaged in care. This suggests that delays and gaps in laboratory reporting to HIV surveillance exist and the proportion of HIV-positive Marylanders who are truly in care is underestimated. Therefore, solely relying on surveillance data might not be an efficient method for identifying not in care HIV cases.

SETTING

Through the Partnerships for Care (P4C) project, MDH conducted targeted D2C efforts on HIV patients from 4 health centers.

METHODS

The expanded D2C model that MDH created during P4C integrated clinical data as a secondary data source to enhance the surveillance data used to estimate HIV patient care engagement. MDH matched and compared health center electronic health records with HIV surveillance data to assess completeness of HIV case and laboratory reporting.

RESULTS

HIV case ascertainment was high (99.9%) for the P4C cohort (N = 927), but differences in estimated care engagement and viral suppression between data sources revealed incomplete laboratory reporting and that patients received care from multiple providers. Analyzing the clinical data leads to the resolution of several reporting gaps, which improved surveillance data quality over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Health departments should validate their HIV surveillance completeness. Triangulating surveillance data with clinical data generated more accurate depictions of care engagement and increased D2C efficiency.

Resource utilization across the continuum of HIV care: An emergency department-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to determine the healthcare resource utilization for people living with HIV (PLWH) presenting to the emergency department (ED) across the HIV Care Continuum.

METHODS

This prospective study enrolled PLWH presenting to an urban ED between June 2016 and March 2017. Subjects were categorized as being linked to care, retained in care, on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and virally suppressed (<200 copies/ml). Data on ED visit rates, duration of stay, and hospital admission rates were compared to local metrics.

RESULTS

Overall, 94.3% of 159 enrollees had been linked to care, 75.5% retained in care, 81.1% on ART, and 62.8% virally suppressed. Compared to the general population of the city and of the ED, participants had a higher ED visit rate (3.0 v. 1.2 visits per person-per year) in the past two years, a higher median duration of ED stay (12.6 v. 7.6 h), and a higher hospital admission rate (36.5% v. 24.9%) during their index ED visit. Viral suppression was negatively associated with admission (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.72). Forty-eight (30.2%) participants who had at least eight ED visits in the past two years were more likely to have a diagnosed mental health disorder (79.2% v. 62.2%, p=0.036).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that PLWH use more ED resources than the general population and a better engagement in HIV care is linked to lesser ED resource utilization for PLWH, indicating the importance of improved HIV care engagement in healthcare utilization management.

Prediction of HIV Transmission Cluster Growth With Statewide Surveillance Data

BACKGROUND

Prediction of HIV transmission cluster growth may help guide public health action. We developed a predictive model for cluster growth in North Carolina (NC) using routine HIV surveillance data.

METHODS

We identified putative transmission clusters with ≥2 members through pairwise genetic distances ≤1.5% from HIV-1 pol sequences sampled November 2010-December 2017 in NC. Clusters established by a baseline of January 2015 with any sequences sampled within 2 years before baseline were assessed for growth (new diagnoses) over 18 months. We developed a predictive model for cluster growth incorporating demographic, clinical, temporal, and contact tracing characteristics of baseline cluster members. We internally and temporally externally validated the final model in the periods January 2015-June 2016 and July 2016-December 2017.

RESULTS

Cluster growth was predicted by larger baseline cluster size, shorter time between diagnosis and HIV care entry, younger age, shorter time since the most recent HIV diagnosis, higher proportion with no named contacts, and higher proportion with HIV viremia. The model showed areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves of 0.82 and 0.83 in the internal and temporal external validation samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The predictive model developed and validated here is a novel means of identifying HIV transmission clusters that may benefit from targeted HIV control resources.

Cohort profile: Development and profile of a population-based, retrospective cohort of diagnosed people living with HIV in Ontario, Canada (Ontario HIV Laboratory Cohort)

PURPOSE

Population-based cohorts of diagnosed people living with HIV (PLWH) are limited worldwide. In Ontario, linked HIV diagnostic and viral load (VL) test databases are centralised and contain laboratory data commonly used to measure engagement in HIV care. We used these linked databases to create a population-based, retrospective cohort of diagnosed PLWH in Ontario, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

A datamart was created by integrating diagnostic and VL databases and linking records at the individual level. These databases contain information on laboratory test results and sociodemographic/clinical information collected on requisition/surveillance forms. Datamart individuals enter our cohort with the first record of a nominal HIV-positive diagnostic test (1985-2015) or VL test (1996-2015), and remain unless administratively lost to follow-up (LTFU; no VL test for >2 years and no VL test in later years). Non-nominal diagnostic tests are excluded as they lack identifying information to permit linkage to other tests. However, individuals diagnosed non-nominally are included in the cohort with record of a VL test. The LTFU rule is applied to indirectly censor for death/out-migration.

FINDINGS TO DATE

As of the end of 2015, the datamart contained 40 372 HIV-positive diagnostic tests and 23 851 individuals with ≥1 VL test. Almost half (46.3%) of the diagnostic tests were non-nominal and excluded, although this was lower (~15%) in recent years. Overall, 29 587 individuals have entered the cohort-contributing 229 302 person-years of follow-up since 1996. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of diagnosed PLWH (cohort individuals not LTFU) increased from 8859 to 16 110, and the percent who were aged ≥45 years increased from 29.1% to 62.6%. The percent of diagnosed PLWH who were virally suppressed (<200 copies/mL) increased from 40.7% in 2000 to 79.5% in 2015.

FUTURE PLANS

We plan to conduct further analyses of HIV care engagement and link to administrative databases with information on death, migration, physician billing claims and prescriptions. Linkage to other data sources will address cohort limitations and expand research opportunities.

A Cluster Randomized Evaluation of a Health Department Data to Care Intervention Designed to Increase Engagement in HIV Care and Antiretroviral Use

BACKGROUND

Many US health departments have implemented Data to Care interventions, which use HIV surveillance data to identify persons who are inadequately engaged in HIV medical care and assist them with care reengagement, but the effectiveness of this strategy is uncertain.

METHODS

We conducted a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized evaluation of a Data to Care intervention in King County, Washington, 2011 to 2014. Persons diagnosed as having HIV for at least 6 months were eligible based on 1 of 2 criteria: (1) viral load (VL) greater than 500 copies/mL and CD4 less than 350 cells/μL at the last report in the past 12 months or (2) no CD4 or VL reported to the health department for at least 12 months. The intervention included medical provider contact, patient contact, and a structured individual interview. Health department staff assisted patients with reengagement using health systems navigation, brief counseling, and referral to support services. We clustered all eligible cases in the county by the last known medical provider and randomized the order of clusters for intervention, creating contemporaneous intervention and control periods (cases in later clusters contributed person-time to the control period at the same time that cases in earlier clusters contributed person-time to the intervention period). We compared the time to viral suppression (VL <200 copies/mL) for individuals during intervention and control periods using a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

We identified 997 persons (intention to treat [ITT]), 18% of whom had moved or died. Of the remaining 822 (modified ITT), 161 (20%) had an undetectable VL reported before contact and 164 (20%) completed the individual interview. The hazard ratio (HR) for time to viral suppression did not differ between the intervention and control periods in ITT (HR, 1.21 [95% confidence interval, 0.85-1.71]) or modified ITT (HR, 1.18 [95% confidence interval, 0.83-1.68]) analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The Data to Care intervention did not impact time to viral suppression.

Trends in HIV care cascade engagement among diagnosed people living with HIV in Ontario, Canada: A retrospective, population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

The HIV cascade is an important framework for assessing systems of care, but population-based assessment is lacking for most jurisdictions worldwide. We measured cascade indicators over time in a population-based cohort of diagnosed people living with HIV (PLWH) in Ontario, Canada.

METHODS

We created a retrospective cohort of diagnosed PLWH using a centralized laboratory database with HIV diagnostic and viral load (VL) test records linked at the individual-level. Individuals enter the cohort with record of a nominal HIV-positive diagnostic test or VL test, and remain unless administratively lost to follow-up (LTFU, >2 consecutive years with no VL test and no VL test in later years). We calculated the annual percent of diagnosed PLWH (cohort individuals not LTFU) between 2000 and 2015 who were in care (≥1 VL test), on ART (as documented on VL test requisition) or virally suppressed (<200 copies/ml). We also calculated time from diagnosis to linkage to care and viral suppression among individuals newly diagnosed with HIV. Analyses were stratified by sex and age. Upper/lower bounds were calculated using alternative indicator definitions.

RESULTS

The number of diagnosed PLWH increased from 8,859 (8,859-11,389) in 2000 to 16,110 (16,110-17,423) in 2015. Over this 16-year period, the percent of diagnosed PLWH who were: in care increased from 81% (63-81%) to 87% (81-87%), on ART increased from 55% (34-60%) to 81% (70-82%) and virally suppressed increased from 41% (23-46%) to 80% (67-81%). Between 2000 and 2014, the percent of newly diagnosed individuals who linked to care within three months of diagnosis or achieved viral suppression within six months of diagnosis increased from 67% to 82% and from 22% to 42%, respectively. Estimates were generally lower for females and younger individuals.

DISCUSSION

HIV cascade indicators among diagnosed PLWH in Ontario improved between 2000 and 2015, but gaps still remain-particularly for younger individuals.

Discordance of Self-report and Laboratory Measures of HIV Viral Load Among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Chicago: Implications for Epidemiology, Care, and Prevention

Suppressing HIV viral load through daily antiretroviral therapy (ART) substantially reduces the risk of HIV transmission, however, the potential population impact of treatment as prevention (TasP) is mitigated due to challenges with sustained care engagement and ART adherence. For an undetectable viral load (VL) to inform decision making about transmission risk, individuals must be able to accurately classify their VL as detectable or undetectable. Participants were 205 HIV-infected young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and transgender women (TGW) from a large cohort study in the Chicago area. Analyses examined correspondence among self-reported undetectable VL, study-specific VL, and most recent medical record VL. Among HIV-positive YMSM/TGW, 54% had an undetectable VL (< 200 copies/mL) via study-specific laboratory testing. Concordance between self-report and medical record VL values was 80% and between self-report and study-specific laboratory testing was 73%; 34% of participants with a detectable study-specific VL self-reported an undetectable VL at last medical visit, and another 28% reported not knowing their VL status. Periods of lapsed viral suppression between medical visits may represent a particular risk for the TasP strategy among YMSM/TGW. Strategies for frequent viral load monitoring, that are not burdensome to patients, may be necessary to optimize TasP.

A Cyclical Approach to Continuum Modeling: A Conceptual Model of Diabetic Foot Care

“Cascade” or “continuum” models have been developed for a number of diseases and conditions. These models define the desired, successive steps in care for that disease or condition and depict the proportion of the population that has completed each step. These models may be used to compare care across subgroups or populations and to identify and evaluate interventions intended to improve outcomes on the population level. Previous cascade or continuum models have been limited by several factors. These models are best suited to processes with stepwise outcomes—such as screening, diagnosis, and treatment—with a single defined outcome (e.g., treatment or cure) for each member of the population. However, continuum modeling is not well developed for complex processes with non-sequential or recurring steps or those without singular outcomes. As shown here using the example of diabetic foot care, the concept of continuum modeling may be re-envisioned with a cyclical approach. Cyclical continuum modeling may permit incorporation of non-sequential and recurring steps into a single continuum, while recognizing the presence of multiple desirable outcomes within the population. Cyclical models may simultaneously represent the distribution of clinical severity and clinical resource use across a population, thereby extending the benefits of traditional continuum models to complex processes for which population-based monitoring is desired. The models may also support communication with other stakeholders in the process of care, including health care providers and patients.

A Flow-Based Model of the HIV Care Continuum in the United States

BACKGROUND

Understanding the flow of patients through the continuum of HIV care is critical to determine how best to intervene so that the proportion of HIV-infected persons who are on antiretroviral treatment and virally suppressed is as large as possible.

METHODS

Using immunological and virological data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design from 2009 to 2012, we estimated the distribution of time spent in and dropout probability from each stage in the continuum of HIV care. We used these estimates to develop a queueing model for the expected number of patients found in each stage of the cascade.

RESULTS

HIV-infected individuals spend an average of about 3.1 months after HIV diagnosis before being linked to care, or dropping out of that stage of the continuum with a probability of 8%. Those who link to care wait an additional 3.7 months on average before getting their second set of laboratory results (indicating engagement in care) or dropping out of care with probability of almost 6%. Those engaged in care spent an average of almost 1 year before achieving viral suppression on antiretroviral therapy or dropping out with average probability 13%. For patients who achieved viral suppression, the average time suppressed on antiretroviral therapy was an average of 4.5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions should be targeted to more rapidly identifying newly infected individuals, and increasing the fraction of those engaged in care that achieves viral suppression.

Longitudinal HIV Care Trajectories in North Carolina

BACKGROUND

Long-term HIV care and treatment engagement is required for maximal clinical and prevention benefits, but longitudinal care patterns are poorly understood. We used the last 10 years' worth of HIV surveillance data from North Carolina to describe longitudinal HIV care trajectories from diagnosis.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study of all persons newly diagnosed with HIV in North Carolina between March 31, 2006 and March 31, 2015 (N = 16,207). We defined HIV care attendance in each 3-month and 6-month interval after diagnosis as the presence of viral load and/or CD4 records (care visit proxies) in the interval. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify common care trajectories and baseline predictors thereof.

RESULTS

A predicted 26% of newly HIV-diagnosed persons showed consistently high care attendance over time; ∼16% exhibited steadily declining attendance; ∼26% showed consistently low attendance; ∼17% had initially weak attendance with an increase starting ∼1.5 year later; and ∼15% showed initially weak attendance with an increase starting ∼3 years later. Older age at diagnosis was protective against all suboptimal trajectories (with the "consistently high" pattern as referent), and being a man who has sex with men was protective against 3 of the 4 suboptimal patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

As measured by surveillance-based laboratory proxies, most newly HIV-diagnosed persons exhibited suboptimal care trajectories, but there was wide variation in the particular pathways followed. The insights provided by this analytical approach can help to inform the design of epidemic models and tailored interventions, with the ultimate goal of improving HIV care engagement and transmission prevention.

Retention, Antiretroviral Therapy Use and Viral Suppression by History of Injection Drug Use Among HIV-Infected Patients in an Urban HIV Clinical Cohort

Compared to HIV-infected persons who do not inject drugs (non-IDU), persons who inject drugs (PWID) experience disparities in linking to medical care, initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) and achieving viral suppression. There has been little attention to changes in these disparities over time. We estimated the proportion of PWID and non-IDU retained in care, on ART, and virally suppressed each year from 2001-2012 in the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort (JHHCC). We defined active clinic patients as those who had ≥1 clinical visit, CD4 cell count, or viral load between July 1 of the prior year, and June 30 of the analysis year. Within a calendar year, retention was defined as ≥2 clinical visits or HIV-related laboratory measurements >90 days; ART use was defined as ≥1 ART prescription active ≥30 days; and viral suppression was defined as ≥1 HIV viral load <400 copies/mL. While PWID were less likely to be retained in earlier years, the gaps in retention closed around 2010. After 2003-2004, PWID and non-IDU retained in care had similar probability of receiving a prescription for ART and PWID and non-IDU on ART had similar probability of viral suppression.

Association between engagement in-care and mortality in HIV-positive persons

Objective:

To assess associations between engagement in-care and future mortality.

Design:

UK-based observational cohort study.

Methods:

HIV-positive participants with more than one visit after 1 January 2000 were identified. Each person-month was classified as being in or out-of-care based on the dates of the expected and observed next care visits. Cox models investigated associations between mortality and the cumulative proportion of months spent in-care (% IC, lagged by 1 year), and cumulative %IC prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in those attending clinic for more than 1 year, with adjustment for age, CD4⁺/viral load, year, sex, infection mode, ethnicity, and receipt/type of ART.

Results:

The 44 432 individuals (27.8% women; 50.5% homosexual, 28.9% black African; median age 36 years) were followed for a median of 5.5 years, over which time 2279 (5.1%) people died. Higher %IC was associated with lower mortality both before [relative hazard 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.88–0.95)/10% higher, P = 0.0001] and after [0.90 (0.87–0.93), P = 0.0001] adjustment. Adjustment for future CD4⁺ changes revealed that the association was explained by poorer CD4⁺ cell counts in those with lower %IC. In total 8730 participants under follow-up for more than 1 year initiated ART of whom 237 (2.7%) died. Higher values of %IC prior to ART initiation were associated with a reduced risk of mortality before [0.29 (0.17–0.47)/10%, P = 0.0001] and after [0.36 (0.21–0.61)/10%, P = 0.0002] adjustment; the association was again explained by poorer post-ART CD4⁺/ viral load in those with lower pre-ART %IC.

Conclusions:

Higher levels of engagement in-care are associated with reduced mortality at all stages of infection, including in those who initiate ART.

A longitudinal, HIV care continuum: 10-year restricted mean time in each care continuum stage after enrollment in care, by history of IDU

OBJECTIVES

We present a novel, patient-centric, longitudinal summary of patient progress through the HIV care continuum. Using this new approach, we compare person-time spent alive, in care, on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and virally suppressed among people who inject drugs (PWID) and those who do not (non-IDU).

DESIGN

Prospective clinical observational cohort study.

METHODS

We followed ART-naive patients with detectable HIV viral loads who enrolled in the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort from enrollment until the occurrence of several care continuum-related milestones, including ART initiation and viral suppression, and until several care continuum-related failures, including loss to clinic and death. We added and subtracted cumulative incidence curves to estimate the proportion of the cohort in each of seven continuum stages across the 10 years following enrollment in clinical care.

RESULTS

PWID composed 32% of the study sample (n = 1443). Over 10 years following enrollment in care, PWID and non-IDU spent only 23 and 37%, respectively, of person-time in care, on ART, and virally suppressed. PWID lost 8.9 more months of life compared with non-IDU and spent an additional 5.0 months on ART but not virally suppressed, and an additional 5.5 months in care but not on ART. There were not meaningful improvements in the 5-year restricted mean person-time differences comparing PWID to non-IDU across enrollment cohorts (2000-2003, 2004-2007, 2008-2014).

CONCLUSION

Efforts to increase viral suppression among PWID should focus on increasing ART initiation and improving adherence to therapy.

Increased antiretroviral therapy prescription and HIV viral suppression among persons receiving clinical care for HIV infection

OBJECTIVE

To assess trends during 2009-2013 in antiretroviral therapy (ART) prescription and viral suppression among adults receiving HIV clinical care in the United States.

DESIGN

We used data from the Medical Monitoring Project, a surveillance system producing national estimates of characteristics of HIV-infected adults receiving clinical care in the United States.

METHODS

We estimated weighted proportions of persons receiving HIV medical care who were prescribed ART and achieved HIV viral suppression (<200 copies/ml) at both last test and at all tests in the previous 12 months during 2009-2013. We assessed trends overall and by gender, age, race/ethnicity, and sexual behavior/orientation.

RESULTS

ART prescription and viral suppression increased significantly during 2009-2013, overall and in subgroups. ART prescription increased from 89 to 94% (P for trend <0.01). Viral suppression at last measurement increased from 72 to 80% (P for trend <0.01). The largest increases were among 18-29 year olds (56-68%), 30-39 year olds (62-75%), and non-Hispanic blacks (64-76%). Sustained viral suppression increased from 58 to 68% (P for trend <0.01). The largest increases were among 18-29 year olds (32-51%), 30-39 year olds (47-63%), and non-Hispanic blacks (49-61%).

CONCLUSION

Adults receiving HIV medical care are increasingly likely to be prescribed ART and achieve viral suppression. Recent efforts to promote early antiretroviral therapy use may have contributed to these increases, bringing us closer to realizing key goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.