Treating Hepatitis C in Individuals With Previous Incarceration: The Veterans Health Administration, 2012-2019.

To determine whether the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) hepatitis C (HCV) treatment campaign reached marginalized populations, we compared HCV care by previous incarceration status with Veterans Aging Cohort Study data. Of those with and those without previous incarceration, respectively, 40% and 21% had detectable HCV, 59% and 65% underwent treatment (P = .07); 92% and 94% of those who completed treatment achieved sustained virologic response. The VHA HCV treatment effort was successful and other systems should replicate those efforts. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(2):162-165. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307152).

A Research Agenda for Criminal Justice Involvement Among U.S. Veterans.

INTRODUCTION: A substantial proportion of adults in the U.S. criminal justice system are military veterans. Justice-involved veterans are of particular public concern given their service to the country and the high rates of health and social problems in the general veteran population. This article describes the development of a national research agenda for justice-involved veterans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the summer of 2022, the VA National Center on Homelessness among Veterans in partnership with the VA Veterans Justice Programs Office convened a national group of subject matter experts and stakeholders across three listening sessions that included 40-63 attendees per session. These sessions were recorded, and transcriptions of all sessions and chats were synthesized to generate a preliminary list of 41 agenda items. The Delphi method involving two rounds of ratings from subject matter experts was used to develop consensus. RESULTS: The final research agenda consists of 22 items covering five domains: Epidemiology and knowledge of the population, treatment and services, systems and systems interface, methodology and research resources, and policies. CONCLUSIONS: The intent of sharing this research agenda is to spur stakeholders to conduct, collaborate, and support further study in these areas.

Personal health record use and its association with antiretroviral adherence: survey and medical record data from 1871 US veterans infected with HIV.

Patient electronic personal health record (PHR) use has been associated with improved patient outcomes in diabetes and depression care. Little is known about the effect of PHR use on HIV care processes and outcomes. We evaluated whether there was an association between patient PHR use and antiretroviral adherence. Data came from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study and included cross-sectional survey and medical record data from 1871 HIV+ veterans. Our adherence measure was an antiretroviral medication possession ratio, dichotomized at 0.90, and based on pharmacy refill data. In our sample 44 % did not use the internet, 14 % used internet but not for health, 27 % used internet for health but not the PHR, and 14 % used the PHR. In multivariable analysis PHR use was associated with ≥90 % adherence after controlling for socio-demographic variables. Findings provide support for longitudinal studies and studies that identify which PHR functions (e.g. online medication refills, viewing lab results, secure messaging with providers) are most closely associated with medication adherence.