Publications by authors named "Zanetta Gant"

Objective(s): To examine associations between Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) measures for economic and racial segregation and HIV outcomes in the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico.

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We examined the association between social vulnerability and HIV diagnoses, linkage to HIV medical care, and viral suppression among adults in the Southern U.S. Data from CDC's National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) were used to determine census tract-level HIV diagnosis rates and percentages of persons linked to care within one month and with viral suppression within six months of diagnosis among Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and White adults aged ≥ 18 years residing in the Southern U.

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Background: Assessing HIV diagnosis and the social vulnerability index (SVI) by themes (socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority status and English proficiency, and housing type and transportation) might help to identify specific social factors contributing to disparities across census tracts with high rates of diagnosed HIV infection in the USA.

Methods: We examined HIV rate ratios in 2019 using data from CDC's National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) for Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and White persons aged ≥ 18 years. NHSS data were linked to CDC/ATSDR SVI data to compare census tracts with the lowest SVI (Q1) and highest SVI (Q4) scores.

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Increasing HIV testing, preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and antiretroviral therapy (ART) are pillars of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, with a goal of decreasing new HIV infections by 90% by 2030.

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Background: To reduce health disparities and improve the health of Americans overall, addressing community-level social and structural factors, such as social vulnerability, may help explain the higher rates of HIV diagnoses among and between race/ethnicity groups.

Methods: Data were obtained from CDC's National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) and the CDC/ATSDR social vulnerability index (SVI). NHSS data for Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White adults with HIV diagnosed in 2018 were linked to SVI data.

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Purpose: HIV disparities continue to persist in the southern United States and among some populations. Early HIV diagnosis, prompt linkage to care, and viral suppression among persons with HIV in the South, in particular the Deep South, are critical to reduce disparities and achieve national prevention goals.

Methods: Estimated annual percent changes were calculated to assess trends during 2015-2019 in percentage distributions for stage of disease at the time of diagnosis, linkage to HIV medical care, and viral suppression.

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Black/African American (Black) versus White persons are unequally burdened by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States. Structural factors can influence social determinants of health, key components in reducing HIV-related health inequality by race. This analysis examined HIV care outcomes among Black and White persons with diagnosed HIV (PWDH) in relation to three structural factors: racial redlining, Medicaid expansion, and Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) use.

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During 2018, Black or African American (Black) persons accounted for 43% of all new diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States (1). The annual diagnosis rate (39.2 per 100,000 persons) among Black persons was four times the rate among all other racial/ethnic groups combined, indicating a profound disparity in HIV diagnoses (1,2).

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Background: With significant improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV, the number of people with HIV in the United States steadily increases. Monitoring trends in HIV-related care outcomes is needed to inform programs aimed at reducing new HIV infections in the United States.

Setting: The setting is 33 United States jurisdictions that had mandatory and complete reporting of all levels of CD4 and viral load test results for each year during 2014-2018.

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Objectives: To reduce the number of new HIV infections and improve HIV health care outcomes, the social conditions in which people live and work should be assessed. The objective of this study was to describe linkage to HIV medical care by selected demographic characteristics and social determinants of health (SDH) among US adults with HIV at the county level.

Methods: We used National HIV Surveillance System data from 42 US jurisdictions and data from the American Community Survey to describe differences in linkage to HIV medical care among adults aged ≥18 with HIV infection diagnosed in 2017.

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Objective: People who inject drugs are among the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection. The objective of this study was to describe differences in the geographic distribution of HIV diagnoses and social determinants of health (SDH) among people who inject drugs (PWID) who received an HIV diagnosis in 2017.

Methods: We used data from the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) to determine the counts and percentages of PWID aged ≥18 with HIV diagnosed in 2017.

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Objective: Social and structural factors, referred to as social determinants of health (SDH), create pathways or barriers to equitable sexual health, and information on these factors can provide critical insight into rates of diseases such as HIV. Our objectives were to describe and identify differences, by race/ethnicity and geography, in SDH among adults with HIV.

Methods: We conducted an ecological study to explore SDH among people with HIV diagnosed in 2017, by race/ethnicity and geography, at the census-tract level in the United States and Puerto Rico.

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Objective: HIV disproportionately affects Hispanic/Latino people in the United States, and factors other than individual attributes may be contributing to these differences. We examined differences in the distribution of HIV diagnosis and social determinants of health (SDH) among US-born and non-US-born Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Methods: We used data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) to determine US census tract-level HIV diagnosis rates and percentages among US-born and non-US-born Hispanic/Latino adults aged ≥18 for 2017.

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Objectives: Racial/ethnic disparities in HIV diagnosis rates remain despite the availability of effective treatment and prevention tools in the United States. In 2019, President Trump announced the "Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America" (EHE) initiative to reduce new HIV infections in the United States at least 75% by 2025 and at least 90% by 2030. The objective of this study was to show the potential effect of the EHE initiative on racial/ethnic disparities in HIV diagnosis rates at the national level.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding geographic patterns of HIV transmission is essential for creating targeted interventions, focusing on transmission risk and urban-rural characteristics among people with closely related HIV strains.
  • The study used US National HIV Surveillance data from 2010-2016 to analyze genetic linkages between individuals diagnosed with HIV, revealing that over half of linked individuals lived in different counties, with the median distance between them being 11 km/7 miles.
  • Results indicated that men who have sex with men (MSM) and MSM who inject drugs experienced the largest median distances, suggesting that transmission networks in rural areas and among key populations are more dispersed, emphasizing the need for coordinated health department efforts for effective follow-up and care.
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Background: In 2016, black women with HIV infection attributed to heterosexual contact accounted for 47% of all women living with diagnosed HIV, and 41% of deaths that occurred among women with diagnosed HIV in the USA that year. Social determinants of health have been found to be associated with mortality risk among people with HIV. We analyzed the role social determinants of health may have on risk of mortality among black women with HIV attributed to heterosexual contact.

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Background: HIV diagnoses among females in the United States declined 22% from 2010 to 2015, including a 27% decline in diagnoses among black females. Despite this progress, disparities persist. Black females accounted for 60% of new HIV diagnoses among females in 2015.

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HIV care outcomes must be improved to reduce new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and health disparities. HIV infection-related care outcome measures were examined for U.S.

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Data from CDC's National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS)* are used to monitor progress toward achieving national goals set forth in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention's Strategic Plan (1) and other federal directives for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, care, and treatment outcomes and HIV-related disparities in the United States. Recent data indicate that Hispanics or Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV infection. Hispanics or Latinos living with diagnosed HIV infection have lower levels of care and viral suppression than do non-Hispanic whites but higher levels than those reported among blacks or African Americans (2).

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HIV diagnoses among females in the USA declined 40% during 2005-2014 with the largest decline (42%) among Black/African Americans. African American females remain disproportionately affected. We explored contributions of STD rates and sexual risk behaviors among African American females, HIV diagnoses among potential male partners, and sexual risk behaviors and viral suppression rates among HIV-positive potential male partners to declining rates of HIV diagnoses among African American females.

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The goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy are to reduce new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, increase access to care and improve health outcomes for persons living with HIV, and reduce HIV-related health disparities. In July 2013, by presidential executive order, the HIV Care Continuum Initiative was established, focusing on accelerating federal efforts to increase HIV testing, care, and treatment. Hispanics or Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV infection; the annual rate of HIV diagnosis among Hispanics or Latinos is approximately three times that of non-Hispanic whites.

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Background: HIV disproportionately affects black men in the United States: most diagnoses are for black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (collectively referred to as MSM). A better understanding of the social conditions in which black men live and work may better explain why HIV incidence and diagnosis rates are higher than expected in this population.

Methods: Using data from the National HIV Surveillance System and the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, we examined the relationships of HIV diagnosis rates and 5 census tract-level social determinants of health variables for 21,948 black MSM and non-MSM aged ≥ 15 years residing in 17 areas in the United States.

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In 2009, the CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) initiated the online, interactive NCHHSTP Atlas. The goal of the Atlas is to strengthen the capacity to monitor the diseases overseen by NCHHSTP and to illustrate demographic, spatial, and temporal variation in disease patterns. The Atlas includes HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted disease, and tuberculosis surveillance data, and aims to provide a single point of access to meet the analytical and data dissemination needs of NCHHSTP.

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