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Most women diagnosed with HIV not linked to care
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More than half of women surveyed in the United States and its territories who tested positive for HIV in 2015 had received a diagnosis in the past; however, most were not linked to care, according to a recent MMWR.
“Findings from this report underscore the importance of HIV testing not only to identify new infections, but also to identify women who have previously received a diagnosis but are not receiving medical care, because either they were never linked to care or they stopped receiving care,” Renee Stein, PhD, of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention and National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, and colleagues, wrote.
Stein and colleagues examined data from 61 CDC-funded health departments and 123 community-based organizations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in 2015. Of more than 3 million HIV tests that were provided through the health departments and organizations, 1,454,499 were administered to women.
Overall, 4,749 women tested positive for HIV. Sixty-two percent of these women were previously diagnosed, but most (87%) were not linked to care.
“Willingness of women with previously diagnosed HIV infection to take another HIV test might signal a desire or willingness to receive the additional support they need to be linked to care, representing an opportunity for an important public health intervention; however, in this analysis, only 58% of women with previously diagnosed HIV infection were linked to care within 90 days of the current test,” the researchers wrote.
Among women with a previous diagnosis, those in the South (53%) were less likely to be linked to care than those in the Northeast (78%) and West (86%). Linkage to care was also lower among black women vs. white women (57% vs. 65%), and among women who were tested in health care facilities vs. those tested in non-health care facilities (55% vs. 68%).
Among the 1,798 women with a new diagnosis, 61% were linked to care and interviewed for partner services. The CDC recommends that all patients newly diagnosed with HIV should be interviewed for partner services so that partners who may have been exposed can be confidentially notified of their risk, receive HIV testing and be linked to care.
“To reduce and eventually eliminate HIV infection among women in the United States, HIV testing programs need to improve early linkage to HIV medical care among HIV-positive women who are not in care, regardless of their known HIV status at the time of testing,” Stein and colleagues concluded. “It is also important for the HIV prevention public health community to increase their focus on identifying women with previously diagnosed HIV infection who are not in care, especially black women, and promptly link them to care, as well as monitor and evaluate these efforts.” – by Stephanie Viguers
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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