Improving Perinatal HIV Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implementing a Mobile Integrated Health Program to Close the Gap.

Background: Pregnant people with HIV (PWH) often experience loss to follow-up and viral non-suppression after delivery, contributing to morbidity and HIV transmission. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems and exacerbated health disparities, including for PWH and their infants. To improve perinatal HIV outcomes, we implemented a perinatal care program in September 2020 that offered multidisciplinary home visits through a Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) unit within a large, safety-net healthcare system in Atlanta, Georgia.

Metropolitan Atlanta Community Adolescent Rapid Testing Initiative: The impact of motivational interviewing and intensive case management on the psychosocial and clinical care outcomes of adolescents and young adults with HIV.

Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to preventing HIV-related complications and transmission for adolescents and young adults with HIV. The Metropolitan Atlanta Community Adolescent Rapid Testing Initiative (MACARTI) was a single-center, prospective, nonrandomized, interventional control group study incorporating motivational interviewing psychotherapy strategies with community outreach, HIV testing, and intensive case management. This substudy of MACARTI examined how the motivational interviewing and case management components influenced psychological distress, proactive coping, HIV/AIDS stress, and HIV stigma in association with HIV disease markers (HIV viral load and CD4 T-cell counts).

Optimizing Community-Based HIV Testing and Linkage to Care for Young Persons in Metropolitan Atlanta.

HIV continuum of care analyses in Georgia during 2013 revealed that 82% of adolescents and adults living with HIV knew their diagnosis and that 75% were linked to care. However, of all persons in Georgia living with HIV in 2014, only 60% had at least one HIV care visit, and just 48% were retained in care. Understanding barriers for HIV testing, linkage, and retention in youth may strengthen HIV-related encounters and improve patient outcomes.

Regular Marijuana Use is Associated with Poor Viral Suppression in HIV-Infected Adolescents and Young Adults.

There is a paucity of data regarding the impact of drug use on HIV suppression and care retention among adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We recruited a clinic-based sample of HIV infected AYAs to assess the prevalence of self-reported drug use. Clinical data, including retention and viral suppression, were abstracted from the electronic medical record.

The Metropolitan Atlanta community adolescent rapid testing initiative study: closing the gaps in HIV care among youth in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of the Metropolitan Atlanta community adolescent rapid testing initiative (MACARTI) intervention relative to standard of care (SOC), in achieving early diagnosis, linkage, and retention among HIV-infected youth ages 18-24 years.

Design: MACARTI was a pilot single-center, prospective, nonrandomized study.

Methods: MACARTI combined nontraditional venue HIV testing, motivational interviewing, and case management.

Simple Tools to Facilitate Project Management of a Nursing Research Project.

Highly organized project management facilitates rigorous study implementation. Research involves gathering large amounts of information that can be overwhelming when organizational strategies are not used. We describe a variety of project management and organizational tools used in different studies that may be particularly useful for novice researchers.