Provider Perspectives on Rapid Treatment Initiation Among People Newly Diagnosed With HIV: A New Message of "Urgency"?

Background: Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy improves human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outcomes. However, achieving earlier treatment initiation is challenging for many reasons including provider awareness and clinic barriers; this study sought to understand perceptions of an early initiation program.

Methods: We interviewed 10 providers from 3 HIV clinics in North Carolina (October-November 2020).

Retention strategies among those on community supervision in the South: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Cohort studies must implement effective retention strategies to produce internally valid and generalizable results. Ensuring all study participants are retained, particularly those involved in the criminal legal system, ensures study findings and future interventions will be relevant to this group, who are often lost to follow-up: critical to achieving health equity. Our objective was to characterize retention strategies and describe overall retention among an 18-month longitudinal cohort study of persons on community supervision prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Validated HIV Knowledge Scales for Use with Adults and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

HIV knowledge - the information a person possesses about HIV - is essential for the prevention and management of HIV. Therefore, the accurate measurement of HIV knowledge is important for both science and practice. This systematic review identifies extant HIV knowledge scales that have been validated with adolescent and adult populations and summarizes the state of this research.

The Implementation of a Text Messaging Intervention to Improve HIV Continuum of Care Outcomes Among Persons Recently Released From Correctional Facilities: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Previously incarcerated individuals have suboptimal linkage and engagement in community HIV care. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been shown to be effective in addressing these gaps. In Washington, District of Columbia (DC), we conducted a randomized trial of an SMS text messaging-based mHealth intervention (CARE+ Corrections) to increase linkage to community HIV care and antiretroviral treatment adherence among HIV-infected persons involved in the criminal justice system.

Use of an mHealth Intervention to Improve Engagement in HIV Community-Based Care Among Persons Recently Released from a Correctional Facility in Washington, DC: A Pilot Study.

We examined the preliminary effectiveness of a computerized counseling session plus post-incarceration text messaging intervention (CARE + Corrections) to support ART adherence and linkage/engagement in community care among recently incarcerated persons with HIV in Washington, D.C. Recently incarcerated persons with HIV ≥ 18 years old were recruited from the D.

Validity of Social Support Scales Utilized Among HIV-Infected and HIV-Affected Populations: A Systematic Review.

Social support enhances self-management and prevention of behaviors and is typically assessed using self-report scales; however, little is known about the validity of these scales in HIV-infected or affected populations. This systematic review aims to identify available validated social support scales used in HIV-infected and HIV-affected populations. A systematic literature search using key search terms was conducted in electronic databases.

Gender Differences in HIV Care among Criminal Justice-Involved Persons: Baseline Data from the CARE+ Corrections Study.

Background: HIV-infected individuals recently released from incarceration have suboptimal linkage and engagement in community HIV care. We conducted a study to evaluate an information and communication technology intervention to increase linkage to community care among HIV-infected persons recently involved in the criminal justice (CJ) system. Baseline characteristics including risk behaviors and HIV care indicators are reported and stratified by gender.