Health department collaboration with emergency departments as a model for public health programs among at-risk populations.

Objectives: Accessing at-risk and underserved populations for intervention remains a major obstacle for public health programs. Emergency departments (EDs) care for patients not otherwise interacting with the health care system, and represent a venue for such programs. A variety of perceived and actual barriers inhibit widespread implementation of ED-based public health programs.

Emergency department HIV testing and counseling: an ongoing experience in a low-prevalence area.

Study Objective: Despite recommendations, emergency department (ED)-based HIV screening is not widespread, and feasibility studies are generally limited to settings with high HIV prevalence (>1%). This investigation was to evaluate an ongoing, publicly funded, ED-based HIV counseling and testing program in a low-prevalence area.

Methods: We reviewed a database of patients treated by an ED-based HIV counseling and testing program at a large, urban, teaching hospital for 1998 to 2002.

HIV disease in primary care.

During the past decade, a large number of new drugs for treating HIV and its complications have been developed. The increasingly sophisticated use of these drugs in combination has led to a marked reduction in HIV-related morbidity and mortality in countries where they are available. HIV/AIDS patients receiving treatment are now expected to live into old age.