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Providers with pediatric, adolescent training increased engagement in HIV care
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Engagement in care for adolescents with HIV could be increased with the availability of providers who have pediatric or adolescent training, according to recent study findings presented at the 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Annual Meeting.
Lana Lee, MD, an adolescent medicine fellow at Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues evaluated 941 adolescents and adults with HIV and adults to determine whether the availability of youth-friendly services help with the engagement in HIV care. Eighty-two percent of patients aged 15 to 24 years were engaged in care in 2011.
In univariate analysis, engagement in care was associated with availability of pediatric or adolescent-trained providers (OR=2.64; 95% CI, 1.87-3.71); youth-friendly waiting areas (OR=3.09; 95% CI, 2.11-4.53); family planning/Title X services (OR=2.48; 95% CI, 1.7-3.62); peer support groups (OR=2.5; 95% CI, 1.73-3.6); youth-tailored services (OR=2.64; 95% CI, 1.85-3.77); and text/email (OR=3.24; 95% CI, 2.2-4.77).
At multivariate analysis, engagement in care was still associated with pediatric or adolescent medicine-trained providers (adjusted OR=1.89; 95% CI, 1.19-2.98) and youth-friendly waiting areas (adjusted OR=2.59; 95% CI, 1.59-4.23). However, onsite peers support groups that were not age-specific were associated with decreased engagement in care (adjusted OR=0.16; 95% CI, 0.05-0.55).
“Peer support groups that are not age-specific may negatively impact engagement,” the researchers wrote. “Further investigations evaluating the effectiveness of youth-friendly approaches on engagement in care for HIV-infected youth are needed to improve care delivery and clinical outcomes for youth.”
For more information:
Lee L. Abstract 115. Presented at: SAHM 2014; March 23-26, 2014; Austin, Texas.
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.