Lifetime HIV testing among three samples of adults with histories of incarceration in Southern California.

ABSTRACTJustice-impacted persons may inconsistently access HIV testing. This cross-sectional secondary analysis investigates lifetime HIV testing prevalence among adults with prior histories of incarceration in Southern California, United States, participating in health-focused programming (n = 3 studies). Self-reported demographic and lifetime HIV testing data were collected between 2017-2023; descriptive analyses were conducted. Across the three samples, at least 74% of participants were male; Latino and African American individuals accounted for nearly two-thirds of participants. Lifetime HIV testing ranged from 72.8% to 84.2%. Males were significantly more likely than females to report never being tested in two samples and accounted for >95% of those never tested. No statistically significant differences in testing were observed by race/ethnicity. Single young adults (ages 18-26) were less likely than their partnered peers to report testing. HIV testing is critical for ensuring that individuals access prevention and treatment. HIV testing among justice-impacted adults in this study was higher than in the general population, potentially due to opt-out testing in correctional settings. Nevertheless, these findings underscore the importance of implementing targeted interventions to reduce structural (e.g., health insurance, access to self-testing kits) and social barriers (e.g., HIV stigma) to increase HIV testing among justice-impacted males and single young adults.

A randomized clinical trial testing a health literacy intervention to reduce disparities in access to care among Justice-Impacted Adults (JIA).

BACKGROUND: Low health literacy is costly and observed among justice-impacted adults (JIA), a group that often faces numerous barriers in accessing healthcare and a disproportionate burden of illness. Health literacy interventions for JIA are critically needed to improve healthcare access and related outcomes. METHODS: This manuscript describes the protocol for a longitudinal mixed-methods randomized clinical trial that assesses the effectiveness of a coach-guided health literacy intervention on JIA's healthcare access. The intervention was previously piloted with justice impacted adults. We will recruit 300 JIA ages 18 + in San Diego, California. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to the Treatment Group (i.e., coach-guided intervention providing 12 sessions of individualized health coaching and service navigation over 6 months) or the Control Group (i.e., self-study of the health coaching program, and brief service navigation support). We will quantitatively assess JIA's healthcare access defined as: use of healthcare, health insurance status, and regular source of care at 6-months as the primary outcomes. Participants will also be surveyed at 12-months. Statistical analyses will incorporate the intent-to-treat (ITT) principle and we will estimate mixed-effects logistic regression for the primary outcomes. We will also conduct qualitative interviews at 6 and 12-months with 40 purposively sampled participants, stratified by study arm, who reported healthcare access barriers at baseline. Interviews will explore participants' satisfaction with the intervention, healthcare attitudes, self-efficacy for and barriers to healthcare access over time, perceived contribution of the intervention to health and well-being, and diffusion of intervention-related information within participants' social networks. We will conduct deductive thematic analyses of qualitative data. DISCUSSION: Low health literacy among JIA is a foundational challenge requiring tailored intervention strategies. Findings from this trial may inform policies and the structure of service delivery models to build health literacy among JIA in institutional and community settings throughout the United States and elsewhere. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered with the United States' ClinicalTrials.gov registry under protocol # 161,903.