Evaluation of a Linkage to care Quality Improvement Initiative for People with HIV.

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and engagement in HIV care is critical to decrease HIV transmissions and optimize outcomes in people with HIV (PWH). In 2016, the CDC reported that 63% of incident HIV diagnoses were transmitted by PWH who were aware of their status but not virally suppressed. Adult Special Care Clinic (ASCC) designed and implemented a quality improvement (QI) program to facilitate linkage and increase viral suppression rates in PWH. ASCC utilized identified barriers to create a Linkage to Care (LTC) program with multiple components, including a LTC coordinator, proactive outreach, and standardized protocols. Logistic regression was used to compare 395 PWH enrolled during the post-QI phase (01 January 2019-31 December 2021) to 337 PWH enrolled during the pre-QI phase (01 January 2016-31 December 2018). Newly diagnosed PWH enrolled during the post-QI phase had significantly higher odds of achieving viral suppression compared to those enrolled during the pre-QI phase (aOR 2.22, 95% CI 1.37-3.59, p = .001). There was no significant difference between previously diagnosed but unengaged PWH enrolled during pre- and post-QI phases, although absolute viral suppression increased from 66.1 to 71.5% in this group. Both increasing age and having private insurance increased the likelihood of achieving viral suppression. Results highlight the potential impact on linkage to care and viral suppression rates of a standardized LTC program, addressing barriers to care for PWH. Additional focus should be placed on previously diagnosed but unengaged PWH to determine what parts of the intervention may be modified to increase viral suppression rates.

Persistence in a pharmacist-led, same-day PrEP program in Mississippi: a mixed-methods study.

INTRODUCTION: Mississippi has one of the highest rates of HIV in the United States but low PrEP uptake. Understanding patterns of PrEP use can improve PrEP initiation and persistence. METHODS: This is a mixed-method evaluation of a PrEP program in Jackson, Mississippi. Between November 2018-December 2019, clients at high risk for HIV attending a non-clinical testing site were referred to a pharmacist for same-day PrEP initiation. The pharmacist provided a 90-day PrEP prescription and scheduled a follow-up clinical appointment within three months. We linked client records from this visit to electronic health records from the two largest PrEP clinics in Jackson to determine linkage into ongoing clinical care. We identified four distinct PrEP use patterns, which we used for qualitative interview sampling: 1) filled a prescription and linked into care within three months; 2) filled a prescription and linked into care after three months; 3) filled a prescription and never linked into care; and 4) never filled a prescription. In 2021, we purposively sampled patients in these four groups for individual interviews to ascertain barriers and facilitators to PrEP initiation and persistence, using guides informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior. RESULTS: There were 121 clients evaluated for PrEP; all were given a prescription. One-third were less than 25 years old, 77% were Black, and 59% were cisgender men who have sex with men. One-quarter (26%) never filled their PrEP prescription, 44% picked up the prescription but never linked into clinical care, 12% linked into care at some point after three months (resulting in a gap in PrEP coverage), and 18% linked into care within 3 months. We interviewed 26 of 121 clients. Qualitative data revealed that cost, stigmas related to sexuality and HIV, misinformation about PrEP, and perceived side effects were barriers to uptake and persistence. Individuals' desire to stay healthy and the support of PrEP clinic staff were facilitators. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of individuals given a same-day PrEP prescription either never started PrEP or stopped PrEP within the first three months. Addressing noted barriers of stigma and misinformation and reducing structural barriers may increase PrEP initiation and persistence.

HIV Incidence Among Individuals Accessing Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Jackson, Mississippi.

Although pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an efficacious biomedical intervention, the effectiveness of same-day PrEP programs has not been widely studied. We utilized data from three of the four largest PrEP providers in Mississippi from September 2018 to September 2021 linked to the Mississippi State Department of Health's Enhanced HIV/AIDS reporting system. HIV diagnosis was defined as testing newly positive for HIV at least 2 weeks after the initial PrEP visit. We calculated the cumulative incidence and incidence rate of HIV per 100 person-years (PY). Person-time was calculated as time from the initial PrEP visit to (1) HIV diagnosis or (2) December 31, 2021 (HIV surveillance data end date). We did not censor individuals if they discontinued PrEP to obtain an estimate of PrEP effectiveness rather than efficacy. Among the 427 clients initiating PrEP during the study period, 2.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9-3.8] subsequently tested positive for HIV. The HIV incidence rate was 1.18 per 100 PY (95% CI: 0.64-2.19) and median time to HIV diagnosis after the initial PrEP visit was 321 days (95% CI: 62-686). HIV incidence rates were highest among transgender and nonbinary individuals [10.35 per 100 PY (95% CI: 2.59-41.40)] compared with cisgender men and women, and among people racialized as Black [1.45 per 100 PY (95% CI: 0.76-2.80)] compared with White and other racialized groups. These findings indicate a need for more clinical and community interventions that support PrEP persistence and restarts among those at high risk of HIV acquisition.

Rapid Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Initiation at a Community-Based Clinic in Jackson, MS.

BACKGROUND: Rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART), ideally initiated within twenty-four hours of diagnosis, may be crucial in efforts to increase virologic suppression and reduce HIV transmission. Recent studies, including demonstration projects in large metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; San Francisco, California; and Washington D.C., have demonstrated that rapid ART initiation is a novel tool for expediting viral suppression in clinical settings. Here we present an evaluation of the impact of a rapid ART initiation program in a community-based clinic in Jackson, MS. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who were diagnosed with HIV at Open Arms Healthcare Center or were linked to the clinic for HIV care by the Mississippi State Department of Health Disease Intervention Specialists from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018. Initial viral load, CD4+ T cell count, issuance of an electronic prescription (e-script), subsequent viral loads until suppressed and patient demographics were collected for each individual seen in clinic during the review period. Viral suppression was defined as a viral load less than 200 copies/mL. Rapid ART initiation was defined as receiving an e-script for antiretrovirals within seven days of diagnosis. RESULTS: Between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018, 70 individuals were diagnosed with HIV and presented to Open Arms Healthcare Center, of which 63 (90%) completed an initial HIV counseling visit. Twenty-seven percent of patients were provided with an e-script for ART within 7 days of diagnosis. The median time to linkage to care for this sample was 12 days and 5.5 days for rapid ART starters (p < 0.001). Median time from diagnosis to viral suppression was 55 days for rapid ART starters (p = 0.03), a 22 day decrease from standard time to viral suppression. CONCLUSION: Our results provide a similar level of evidence that rapid ART initiation is effective in decreasing time to viral suppression. Evidence from this evaluation supports the use of rapid ART initiation after an initial HIV diagnosis, including same-day treatment.

A Pharmacist-Led, Same-Day, HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Initiation Program to Increase PrEP Uptake and Decrease Time to PrEP Initiation.

Mississippi has one of the highest rates of HIV in the United States, but has low pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, particularly among black men who have sex with men (MSM) and women. From November 2018 to May 2019, patients at high risk of HIV who tested negative for HIV at a nonclinical testing center in Jackson, Mississippi, were referred to an on-site clinical pharmacist for same-day PrEP initiation. The pharmacist evaluated patients for medical contraindications to PrEP, but no baseline labs were obtained. The pharmacist provided a PrEP prescription and scheduled a clinical appointment for patients within 6 weeks, at which time they were evaluated by a clinician and completed baseline labs. The pharmacist evaluated 69 patients for PrEP; 57% were MSM, 77% were black, and 65% were uninsured. All patients received a PrEP prescription; 83% received the prescription the same day and 97% received it within 5 days. Fifty-three (77%) of 69 clients filled the prescription; 87% of whom filled it within 1 week. Only 23 (43%) of 53 clients who filled their prescription attended their initial clinical appointment within 6 weeks of obtaining PrEP. There were no differences in PrEP initiation or retention by patient sex/gender. This pilot program suggests that an on-site pharmacist working in a nonclinical testing center in the southern United States can successfully initiate PrEP among predominately low-income black MSM. Future efforts should seek to better integrate laboratory testing into this demedicalized model of PrEP and to improve retention in care.