via Project Inform, by Mark R. Vogel
Despite significant advances in the treatment and prevention of HIV, the number of new HIV infections in the United States holds steady at about 50,000.1 Furthermore, 21% of individuals infected with HIV in the United States are not aware of their status, and an estimated 33% of those who know that they are HIV-positive are not engaged in care and treatment for their disease.2 Another 38% of newly diagnosed individuals test positive for HIV so late that they receive an AIDS diagnosis at the same time as, or within a year of testing positive.3 Clearly, novel prevention strategies, ways to engage individuals in care sooner after infection, and methods to maintain them in care and treatment needed.
This paper examines successful components of TLC-Plus programs in four jurisdictions and specific strategies used to achieve desired health outcomes, as described by public health officials in each. It is our hope that these strategies may be used to inform the development of TLC-Plus programs across the country. Consideration is also given to funding and to the role of electronic medical records, in Louisiana, in assisting patients who have fallen out of (or never entered into) care.
Read the rest.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]
Despite significant advances in the treatment and prevention of HIV, the number of new HIV infections in the United States holds steady at about 50,000.1 Furthermore, 21% of individuals infected with HIV in the United States are not aware of their status, and an estimated 33% of those who know that they are HIV-positive are not engaged in care and treatment for their disease.2 Another 38% of newly diagnosed individuals test positive for HIV so late that they receive an AIDS diagnosis at the same time as, or within a year of testing positive.3 Clearly, novel prevention strategies, ways to engage individuals in care sooner after infection, and methods to maintain them in care and treatment needed. One such strategy is the Test, Link to Care, Plus Treat (TLC-Plus) approach. TLC-Plus addresses several aspects of the healthcare system that can be improved to help those with HIV live longer and healthier lives while also reducing transmission of the virus to others. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy places testing, linkage to care, treatment and support services at the center of efforts to improve the health outcomes of HIV-positive individuals and to prevent new infections.4
This paper examines successful components of TLC-Plus programs in four jurisdictions and specific strategies used to achieve desired health outcomes, as described by public health officials in each. It is our hope that these strategies may be used to inform the development of TLC-Plus programs across the country. Consideration is also given to funding and to the role of electronic medical records, in Louisiana, in assisting patients who have fallen out of (or never entered into) care.
Read the rest.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]
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