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The purpose of this study was to contribute to the limited literature on newly diagnosed persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) by describing their retention in HIV primary care and changes in barriers to care over 12 months of follow-up subsequent to enrolling in outreach interventions. Medical chart review and interview data were collected from 104 newly diagnosed PLWHA at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Almost all newly diagnosed PLWHA (92%) had an HIV care appointment in the 6 months post-enrollment. Newly diagnosed persons were more likely to have undetectable viral loads at 6 and 12-month follow-up compared to baseline with 45% undetectable by 12 months. Adequate retention in care (at least one appointment in each 6-month window) was significantly associated with reductions in substance use and improvements in insurance coverage. Improvements in mental health status and the elimination of stigma as a barrier were not associated with retention, but those who reported stigma as a barrier at baseline and continued to report stigma at 6 months had less than adequate retention. These results suggest the need for early and intensive outreach interventions for newly diagnosed persons. Future directions include testing outreach interventions in a randomized clinical trial, and evaluating programs that integrate early HIV identification and intensive outreach to enroll and retain persons newly infected with HIV in care.
Naar‐King et al. (Fri,) studied this question.