Publications by authors named "Julia Marcus"

Background: With extended lifespans for people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH), there is a corresponding increased burden of chronic illnesses, including cancer. Our objective was to estimate the excess mortality among PWH with cancer compared with people without HIV (PWoH), accounting for the higher background mortality in the general PWH population.

Methods: We identified 39,000 PWH and 387,767 demographically matched PWoH in three integrated healthcare systems from 2000 to 2016.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Doxycycline used as postexposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) can significantly lower the risk of bacterial STIs if taken within 72 hours after sex, yet knowledge and usage among at-risk populations remain unclear.!* -
  • An online survey of 903 mainly gay and bisexual men revealed that while nearly half were aware of antibiotic use for STI prevention and most expressed interest, only about 21% had actually used it, with doxycycline being the most common choice.!* -
  • Many users deviated from recommended dosages, and most reported unchanged condom use during prophylaxis, highlighting a need for better education on effective STI preventative measures among sexually active individuals.!*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antiretroviral medications have substantially improved life expectancy for people with HIV. These medications are also highly effective in preventing HIV acquisition in people who do not have HIV, a strategy known as HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Despite these advances, some life and disability insurers continue to deny or limit coverage for people with HIV, and some have even refused to cover people who are using PrEP to protect themselves.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use remains limited and inequitable, and strategies are needed to improve PrEP provision in primary care.

Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized trial at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, to evaluate the effectiveness of a clinical decision support intervention guided by an electronic health record (EHR)-based HIV risk prediction model to improve PrEP provision. Primary care providers (PCPs) were randomized to usual care or intervention, with PCPs who provide care to people with HIV balanced between arms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Excess weight gain is an important health concern among people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART). The extent to which ART contributes to body mass index (BMI) changes is incompletely understood.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of PWH initiating ART and demographically matched people without HIV (PWoH).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a nationwide sample of cisgender Black women in the US, we assessed the associations between social and structural factors and interest in using HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Among 315 respondents, 62.2% were interested in PrEP if it were provided for free.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provision in U.S. health centers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Greater decline in bone health among people with HIV (PWH) has been documented but fracture risk and the impact of specific antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens remain unclear.

Setting: Retrospective analyses of electronic health record data from 3 US integrated health care systems.

Methods: Fracture incidence was compared between PWH aged 40 years or older without prior fracture and demographically matched people without HIV (PWoH), stratified by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The underrepresentation of historically marginalized groups in the HIV research workforce is a barrier to reaching national Ending the Epidemic goals.

Setting: The Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (HU CFAR) Diversity Equity and Inclusion Working Group (DEI WG) uses a multifaceted approach to enhance the field's diversity.

Methods: We established a DEI WG to improve the recruitment, inclusion, and retention of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in HIV research.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) is shown to effectively reduce STIs in individuals with HIV and those using PrEP, although there's concern over the broad increase in antibiotic use.
  • A study analyzed electronic health records from a health center servicing gay and bisexual men, transgender women, and non-binary individuals, evaluating various doxyPEP prescribing strategies over five years.
  • Results indicated that the most effective strategies focus on STI history rather than HIV status or PrEP use, potentially averting a significant number of STI diagnoses by tailoring doxyPEP prescriptions based on previous infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Benefits of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) include not just HIV risk reduction, but also improved emotional and social well-being reported by users, such as reduced anxiety and increased intimacy.
  • * Clinicians need to provide comprehensive discussions about both the risks and benefits of PrEP, incorporating users' personal and relational experiences.
  • * Training programs and guidelines for healthcare providers should be adapted to include community input and user-reported outcomes, emphasizing the need to prioritize the values and experiences of potential PrEP users, especially marginalized populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Enhanced provider training could improve PrEP access and equity. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing (a) a one-hour, group-based provider intervention integrating PrEP and Cultural Competence (PCC) training with (b) a standard HIV continuing medical education session (n = 56). PCC participants favorably rated the intervention and reported increased PrEP knowledge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antiretroviral preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but uptake has been limited and inequitable. Although interventions to increase PrEP uptake are being evaluated in clinical trials among men who have sex with men (MSM), those trials cannot evaluate effects on HIV incidence. Estimates from observational studies of the causal effects of PrEP-uptake interventions on HIV incidence can inform decisions about intervention scale-up.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The generalized g-formula can be used to estimate the probability of survival under a sustained treatment strategy. When treatment strategies are deterministic, estimators derived from the so-called efficient influence function (EIF) for the g-formula will be doubly robust to model misspecification. In recent years, several practical applications have motivated estimation of the g-formula under non-deterministic treatment strategies where treatment assignment at each time point depends on the observed treatment process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is underused in the southern United States (US), a region with high HIV incidence. Clinical decision support (CDS) tools could increase PrEP prescriptions. We explored barriers to PrEP delivery and views of CDS tools to identify refinements for implementation strategies for PrEP prescribing and PrEP CDS tools.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is underutilized in the southern United States. Rapid identification of individuals vulnerable to diagnosis of HIV using electronic health record (EHR)-based tools may augment PrEP uptake in the region.

Methods: Using machine learning, we developed EHR-based models to predict incident HIV diagnosis as a surrogate for PrEP candidacy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a global public health threat with infections recorded in nearly every country. Responses to COVID-19 have varied in intensity and breadth, but generally have included domestic and international travel limitations, closure of non-essential businesses, and repurposing of health services. While these interventions have focused on testing, treatment, and mitigation of COVID-19, there have been reports of interruptions to diagnostic, prevention, and treatment services for other public health threats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF