Objective To describe patterns of ancillary public service use among individuals eligible for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part A services. Data Sources and Study Setting This study used secondary data from people living with HIV who received Ryan White services in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN, 13‐county Part A grant area. We combined client data with four separate public service administrative datasets to describe ancillary service use during 2018. Study Design This is a retrospective cross‐sectional study of linked administrative data. Key outcomes included receipt of one or more ancillary services (case management, cash assistance, food assistance, housing, health insurance, healthcare services, and other support services). We stratified descriptive analyses by current receipt of RWHAP Part A services and by engagement in HIV medical care. Data Collection We included all individuals who received a documented RWHAP Part A–funded service in the Minneapolis–St. Paul Transitional Grant Area. We used probabilistic matching on name and date of birth to link RWHAP client data with administrative datasets. Principal Findings 96.3% of PLWH who received at least one RWHAP Part A–funded service were retained in care, but only 66.0% of PLWH who received at least one other public service, but no RWHAP services, remained engaged in HIV medical care. We also observed high rates of cross‐sector utilization. Among recipients of each RWHAP Part A–funded service, 75.7%–85.7% also received at least one other public service. Conclusions The integration of traditionally siloed administrative datasets can inform the public health response to ensure PLWH receive necessary ancillary services and identify opportunities to re‐engage people in HIV medical care.
Shearer et al. (Thu,) studied this question.