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).

Male partners' support and influence on pregnant women's oral PrEP use and adherence in Malawi.

Introduction: Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a safe and effective HIV prevention method for pregnant and postpartum women, but adherence barriers exist. Understanding the role of male partners in supporting PrEP use may inform strategies to support PrEP adherence among pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Methods: To understand male partners' involvement in women's use of PrEP, we conducted in-depth interviews with pregnant women in Lilongwe, Malawi who had recently decided to use PrEP ( = 30) and their male partners ( = 20) in the context of a PrEP adherence trial.

Feasibility, Acceptability and Appropriateness of MedViewer: A Novel Hair-Based Antiretroviral Real-Time Clinical Monitoring Tool Providing Adherence Feedback to Patients and Their Providers.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is key to achieving viral load suppression and ending the HIV epidemic but monitoring and supporting adherence using current interventions is challenging. We assessed the feasibility, acceptability and appropriateness of MedViewer (MV), a novel intervention that provides real-time adherence feedback for patients and providers using infra-red matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (IR-MALDESI) for mass spectrometry imaging of daily ART concentrations in patients' hair. We used mixed methods to feasibility test MV at a busy Infectious Diseases (ID) clinic, enrolling 16 providers and 36 patients.

Institutional Reform to Promote Antiracism: A Tool for Developing an Organizational Equity Action and Accountability Plan.

Racism is a public health problem. Systems, structures, policies, and practices perpetuate a culture built on racism. Institutional reform is needed to promote antiracism.

A Per-Protocol Analysis Using Inverse-Probability-of-Censoring Weights in a Randomized Trial of Initial Protease Inhibitor Versus Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Regimens in Children.

Protocol adherence may influence measured treatment effectiveness in randomized controlled trials. Using data from a multicenter trial (Europe and the Americas, 2002-2009) of children with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 who had been randomized to receive initial protease inhibitor (PI) versus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) antiretroviral therapy regimens, we generated time-to-event intention-to-treat (ITT) estimates of treatment effectiveness, applied inverse-probability-of-censoring weights to generate per-protocol efficacy estimates, and compared shifts from ITT to per-protocol estimates across and within treatment arms. In ITT analyses, 263 participants experienced 4-year treatment failure probabilities of 41.

Effect of a Patient Decision Aid on Preferences for Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Guidelines recommend individualized decision-making for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among adults aged 76 to 84 years, a process that includes a consideration of health state and patient preference.

Objective: To determine whether a targeted patient decision aid would align older adults' screening preference with their potential to benefit from CRC screening.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a prespecified secondary analysis from a randomized clinical trial.

"We start where we are": a qualitative study of barriers and pragmatic solutions to the assessment and reporting of implementation strategy fidelity.

Background: Fidelity measurement of implementation strategies is underdeveloped and underreported, and the level of reporting is decreasing over time. Failing to properly measure the factors that affect the delivery of an implementation strategy may obscure the link between a strategy and its outcomes. Barriers to assessing and reporting implementation strategy fidelity among researchers are not well understood.

Understanding PrEP decision making among pregnant women in Lilongwe, Malawi: A mixed-methods study.

Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising tool for HIV prevention during pregnancy. With increasing rollout in antenatal settings, counselling strategies to help pregnant women make appropriate decisions about PrEP use are needed. Understanding women's motivations and concerns for PrEP use-and how these inform their decision making and feelings about the decision to start PrEP-are critical to inform these strategies.

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.

Symptoms and functioning improve after chronic hepatitis C cure as assessed by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale and PROMIS measures.

The benefits of chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) cure on various aspects of patients’ health experiences may be under-appreciated. The aim of this study was to conduct an in-depth evaluation of change in a comprehensive set of patient-reported symptoms and aspects of life functioning after achieving HCV cure using validated instruments. Patients completed the 32-item Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) and several Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures prior to DAA treatment and up to 10 months after viral cure.

Did the 2015 USPSTF Abnormal Blood Glucose Recommendations Change Clinician Attitudes or Behaviors? A Mixed-Method Assessment.

Background: In 2015, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised clinical recommendations to more broadly recommend abnormal blood glucose screening and more clearly recommend referral to behavioral interventions for adults with prediabetes.

Objective: To assess the effects of the 2015 USPSTF recommendation changes on abnormal blood glucose screening and referral to behavioral interventions, and to examine physicians' perceptions of the revised recommendation.

Design: We utilized a sequential, dependent mixed-methods triangulation design.

Willingness to participate in research among black patients with liver disease: A national cross-sectional study.

In the United States, Black people are disproportionately diagnosed with hepatitis C virus (HCV) compared with White people but are under-represented in HCV studies. In this US-based cross-sectional telephone survey study, we assessed willingness to participate (WTP) in health/medical research and attitudes and beliefs that may influence WTP among Black patients with HCV. Two hundred participants who had current or prior HCV diagnosis and self-identified as Black or African American were recruited from a national HCV cohort study and an outpatient hepatology clinic.

"If I Get Cured, My Whole Quality of Life Will Change": Patients' Anticipated and Actualized Benefits Following Cure from Chronic Hepatitis C.

Background: Patients' motivations for undergoing direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for chronic hepatitis C may include anticipation of treatment benefits not well described in the literature.

Aims: Evaluate patients' anticipated and actualized improvements in several domains of functioning before and after viral cure.

Methods: Pre-post-study utilizing in-depth interviews with 28 patients prior to, and several months after, DAA therapy.

Patient-reported outcomes 12 months after hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals: Results from the PROP UP study.

Background & Aims: The long-term impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy with all-oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) has not been well-described. We characterized changes in PROs from pre-treatment to 12 months post-treatment in a real-world cohort.

Methods: PROP UP was a multi-centre observational cohort study of 1601 patients treated with DAAs at 11 US gastroenterology/hepatology practices from 2015 to 2017.

Time to treatment disruption in children with HIV-1 randomized to initial antiretroviral therapy with protease inhibitors versus non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Background: Choice of initial antiretroviral therapy regimen may help children with HIV maintain optimal, continuous therapy. We assessed treatment-naïve children for differences in time to treatment disruption across randomly-assigned protease inhibitor versus non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based initial antiretroviral therapy.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter phase 2/3, randomized, open-label trial in Europe, North and South America from 2002 to 2009.

Acceptability of a trial of vaginal progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth among HIV-infected women in Lusaka, Zambia: A mixed methods study.

Antenatal progesterone prevents preterm birth (PTB) in women with a short cervix or prior PTB in daily vaginal or weekly injectable formulations, respectively. Neither has been tested for the indication of maternal HIV, which is associated with an elevated risk of PTB. The Vaginal Progesterone (VP) Trial was a pilot feasibility study of VP to prevent HIV-related PTB in Lusaka, Zambia.

Awareness of and attitudes toward pre-exposure prophylaxis among African American women living in low-income neighborhoods in a Southeastern city.

African American women in the South are disproportionately affected by HIV but have often been ignored in HIV prevention efforts, including in the rollout of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). To inform strategies to promote PrEP awareness and access in this population, we conducted a venue-based community survey with 53 African American women living in low-income neighborhoods of a Southeastern city to understand women's knowledge of and attitudes toward PrEP. Awareness of PrEP was very low (37%) with only 16% being aware that PrEP is used for HIV prevention.

Factors Associated with HIV Disclosure Status Among iENGAGE Cohort of New to HIV Care Patients.

HIV disclosure is an important behavior with implications for HIV treatment and prevention but understudied among new to HIV care patients who face unique challenges adjusting to a new diagnosis. This study evaluated the factors associated with HIV disclosure status and patterns of HIV disclosure among new to HIV care patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted evaluating the iENGAGE (integrating ENGagement and Adherence Goals upon Entry) cohort.

Challenges for accessing and maintaining good quality of HIV care among men who have sex with men living with HIV in China: a qualitative study with key stakeholders.

HIV care in China is shifting toward a community-based model involving a wide range of stakeholders. We aimed to understand key stakeholders' perceived challenges of providing high-quality care for men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV. In-depth interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of stakeholders ( = 17) in two Chinese cities, including providers, policymakers, and community workers.

Preferences for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Service Delivery Among Female Sex Workers in Malawi: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Female sex workers (FSW) in Malawi have among the highest HIV prevalence estimates worldwide. Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention method, yet preferences for PrEP delivery among FSW are lacking. Eight focus group discussions, a literature review, and cognitive interviews were conducted to identify modifiable PrEP delivery attributes and inform discrete-choice experiment (DCE) development for FSW in Lilongwe.

Self-reported antiretroviral therapy adherence and viral load in criminal justice-involved populations.

Background: Self-reported antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence measures that are associated with plasma viral load (VL) are valuable to clinicians and researchers, but are rarely examined among groups vulnerable to dropping out of care. One-seventh of all those living with HIV pass through incarceration annually and criminal-justice (CJ) involved people living with HIV (PLH) are vulnerable to falling out of care. We examined the association of self-reported ART adherence with VL in a criminal-justice sample compared to a routine-care sample.

Medication Non-adherence in a Prospective, Multi-center Cohort Treated with Hepatitis C Direct-Acting Antivirals.

Background: The prevalence and risk factors for non-adherence to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in clinical practice settings are under-studied.

Objectives: (1) To quantify DAA non-adherence in the total cohort and among subgroups with and without mental health conditions, alcohol use, and substance use, and (2) to investigate patient- and treatment-level risk factor non-adherence.

Design: Prospective, observational cohort study.