Outreach nurses critical for delivery of HIV care to women in western Victoria.

Women living with HIV in regional Victoria face barriers accessing care. We evaluated the care cascade and outreach nurse support required for women attending our service between 2005 and 2020. A total of 33 women attended; 97% (32/33) were on antiretroviral therapy; 67% (22/33) retained in care, 27% (9/33) transferred and 6% (2/33) lost to follow up. Of women retained in care, 95% (21/22) were on antiretroviral therapy and 91% (20/22) had virological suppression. A total of 91% (30/33) required outreach nurse care (median care episodes 100/woman; IQR 44-179) - most frequently (87%; 26/30) liaising with pharmacies and prescribers. Outreach nurses are critical in achieving UNAIDS targets for women in western Victoria.

Trends in chlamydia positivity among heterosexual patients from the Victorian Primary Care Network for Sentinel Surveillance, 2007-2011.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in chlamydia positivity from 2007 to 2011 among heterosexual people tested for chlamydia at selected clinics that provide services to people at high risk in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: The Victorian Primary Care Network for Sentinel Surveillance is a prospective system that collates pathology results from laboratories and demographic and behavioural data from a questionnaire. SETTING: Two sexual health clinics and six other primary care clinics that target young people and women at high risk. PARTICIPANTS: All clients tested for chlamydia at sentinel clinics. Individuals aged less than 16 years, sex workers, or those reporting any same-sex sexual partners in the past 12 months were excluded from the analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Chlamydia positivity trends were assessed using three-level random-effects Poisson regression, with clinic and subject treated as nested random factors. Models were offset for total number of tests and adjusted for relevant covariates. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2011, chlamydia positivity among 31 682 tests in women increased from 5.1% to 6.3%, and positivity among 23 771 tests in men increased from 7.4% to 8.2%. Adjusting for age, country of birth, number of sex partners, condom use, and presence of symptoms, chlamydia positivity increased between 2007 and 2011 significantly among women (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.29; 95% CI, 1.11-1.50) and non-significantly among men (IRR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.92-1.23). Over time, a decrease in reported inconsistent condom use was also observed in both men and women; however, men became more likely to report more than one partner in the past year. CONCLUSION: We identified a concerning increase in chlamydia positivity over time, particularly among young women.

A Retrospective Cohort Study of Women and Men Living with HIV, Attending an HIV Clinic in Australia.

Objectives: To compare women with men presenting with HIV to a public health HIV clinic, to identify the special characteristics and health care needs of women living with HIV in the Barwon South West region in Victoria. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 35 women and 135 men living with HIV who attended the clinic between 2009 and 2020. Gender differences were assessed using nonparametric analyses. Results: The women were diagnosed with HIV younger than the men (mean 29.5 years vs. 36.7 years) and more were born in Africa (28.6% vs. 5.2%). More men than women presented with sexually transmittable infections (38.5% vs. 14.3%) at the time of diagnosis, and were diagnosed through a sexual health screen (37% vs. 17%). The proportions of men and women who used alcohol and other drugs (recent to their diagnosis) were similar (68.1% vs. 48.6%), and there was no difference in proportions presenting with AIDS-defining illnesses (p = 0.425), or CD4 cell count (advanced: ≤200 cells, relatively well: ≥201 cells, p = 0.241), but the women had a lower viral load (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In this study of 170 people living with HIV, nearly one-half of the men with known HIV history were diagnosed through sexual health screens, but women's HIV was mostly detected through targeted screening. Results highlight gender disparity in access to sexual health screening and assessment, including low awareness of sexual health risks for women, and endorse the view that HIV is a heterosexual sexually transmittable infection in women.