Patient Education and Decision Support for Long-Acting Injectable HIV Antiretroviral Therapy: Protocol for Tool Development and Pilot Testing with Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Medical Case Management Programs in New York.

BACKGROUND: Long-acting injectable (LAI) HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) presents a major opportunity to facilitate and sustain HIV viral suppression, thus improving health and survival among people living with HIV and reducing the risk of onward transmission. However, realizing the public health potential of LAI ART requires reaching patients who face barriers to daily oral ART adherence and thus can clinically benefit from alternative treatment modalities. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part A medical case management (MCM) programs provide an array of services to address barriers to HIV care and treatment among economically and socially marginalized people living with HIV. These programs have demonstrated effectiveness in improving engagement along the continuum of care, but findings of limited program impact on durable viral suppression highlight the need to further innovate and hone strategies to support long-term ART adherence. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to adapt and expand Ryan White MCM service strategies to integrate LAI ART regimen options, with the larger goal of improving health outcomes in the populations that could most benefit from alternatives to daily oral ART regimens. METHODS: In 3 phases of work involving patient and provider participants, this study uses role-specific focus groups to elicit perceptions of LAI versus daily oral ART; discrete choice experiment (DCE) surveys to quantify preferences for different ART delivery options and related supports; and a nonrandomized trial to assess the implementation and utility of newly developed tools at 6 partnering Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part A MCM programs based in urban, suburban, and semirural areas of New York. Findings from the focus groups and DCEs, as well as feedback from advisory board meetings, informed the design and selection of the tools: a patient-facing, 2-page fact sheet, including frequently asked questions and a side-by-side comparison of LAI with daily oral ART; a patient-facing informational video available on YouTube (Google Inc); and a patient-provider decision aid. Implementation outcomes, measured through provider interviews, surveys, and service reporting, will guide further specification of strategies to integrate LAI ART options into MCM program workflows. RESULTS: The study was funded in late April 2021 and received approval from the institutional review board in May 2021 under protocol 20-096. Focus groups were conducted in late 2021 (n=21), DCEs ran from June 2022 to January 2023 (n=378), and tools for piloting were developed by May 2023. The trial (May 2023 through January 2024) has enrolled >200 patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study is designed to provide evidence regarding the acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, and utility of a package of patient-oriented tools for comparing and deciding between LAI ART and daily oral ART options. Study strengths include formative work to guide tool development, a mixed methods approach, and the testing of tools in real-world safety-net service settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05833542; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05833542. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/56892.

Relationship Between Patient Portal Tool Use and Medication Adherence and Viral Load Among Patients Living with HIV.

BACKGROUND: Patient portals play an increasingly critical role in engaging patients in their health care. They have the potential to significantly impact the health of those living with chronic diseases, such as HIV, for whom consistent care engagement is both critical and complex. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim was to examine the longitudinal relationships between individual portal tool use and health-related outcomes in patients living with HIV. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data to examine the relationship between patient portal tool use and key HIV-specific, health-related outcomes in patients engaged in care in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) through the application of marginal structural models. PARTICIPANTS: A national sample of patients living with HIV (PLWH) active in VA care who were registered to use the VA's patient portal, My HealtheVet (MHV; n = 18,390) between 10/1/2012 and 4/1/2017. MAIN MEASURES: The MHV tools examined were prescription refill (including prescription refill of an antiretroviral (ART) medication and any medication), secure messaging, view appointments, and view labs. Primary outcomes were viral load test receipt, viral load suppression, and ART medication adherence (measured as proportion of days covered). KEY RESULTS: The use of prescription refill for any medication or for ART was positively associated with ART adherence. Secure messaging was positively associated with ART adherence but not with viral load test receipt or viral load suppression. The use of view appointments was positively associated with ART adherence and viral load test receipt but not viral load suppression. The use of view labs was positively associated with viral load suppression but not ART adherence or viral load test receipt. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the valuable role patient portals may play in improving health-related outcomes among PLWH and have implications for patients living with other types of chronic disease.

A Tool to Identify and Engage Patients on Risky Opioid Regimens.

BACKGROUND: Concerns around opioid safety for patients living with chronic pain have led to a growing number of collaborative and multimodal pain care initiatives. A major challenge in these efforts has been identifying and engaging patients on high-risk opioid regimens in a timely manner. OBJECTIVES: In this clinical informatics case report, we describe the development and implementation of a web-based tool to support providers as they implement an integrated pain support clinical initiative at primary care clinics across three health care systems. METHODS: The tool identifies patients on risky opioid medication regimens and generates autopopulated patient outreach letters. It contains three core functions that: (1) identify patients prescribed high-dose opioids or coprescribed opioids and benzodiazepines, (2) generate automated letters for patients with an upcoming primary care appointment, and (3) allow clinic staff to write back to a database to track outreach and referrals. Qualitative stakeholder feedback was gathered through interviews and user testing to assess perceived usefulness and ease of use of the tool. RESULTS: Over a 24-month period, the tool identified 1,125 patients prescribed risky medication regimens and generated 1,315 total letters as some patients became reeligible. Stakeholder feedback revealed that the tool was useful to quickly find patients on risky medication regimens and efficient in generating prepopulated letters that could be mailed in large batches. Additional feedback led to iterative refinements and improved system capabilities that varied across clinics. CONCLUSION: Deploying clinical informatics tools that prioritize, engage, and track high-risk patient populations supports reduction of risky medication regimens. Such tools can reduce workload burden on busy primary care staff, particularly during implementation studies, and enhance patient-centered care through the use of direct-to-consumer outreach.

Overdose and mortality risk following a non-fatal opioid overdose treated by Emergency Medical Services in King County, Washington.

BACKGROUND: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies respond to hundreds of thousands of acute overdose events each year. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of EMS patients who survived a prior opioid overdose in 2019-2021 in King County, Washington. METHODS: A novel record linkage algorithm was applied to EMS electronic health records and the state vital statistics registry to identify repeat overdoses and deaths that occurred up to 3 years following the index opioid overdose. We measured overdose incidence rates and applied survival analysis techniques to assess all-cause and overdose-specific mortality risks. RESULTS: In the year following the index opioid overdose, the overdose (fatal or non-fatal) incidence rate was 23.3 per 100 person-year, overdose mortality rate was 2.7 per 100 person-year, and all-cause mortality rate was 5.2 per 100 person-year in this cohort of overdose survivors (n=4234). Overdose incidence was highest in the first 30 days following the index overdose (43 opioid overdoses and 4 fatal overdoses per 1000 person-months), declined precipitously, and then plateaued from the third month onwards (10-15 opioid overdoses and 1-2 fatal overdoses per 1000 person-months). Overdose incidence rates, measured at 30 days, were highest among overdose survivors who were young, male, and experienced a low severity index opioid overdose, but these differences diminished when measured at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Among EMS patients who survived an opioid overdose, the risk of subsequent overdose is high, especially in the weeks following the index opioid overdose. Non-fatal overdose may represent a pivotal time to connect patients with harm-reduction, treatment, and other support services.

Study protocol for data to suppression (D2S): a cluster-randomised, stepped-wedge effectiveness trial of a reporting and capacity-building intervention to improve HIV viral suppression in housing and behavioural health programmes in New York City.

INTRODUCTION: With progress in the 'diagnose', 'link' and 'retain' stages of the HIV care continuum, viral suppression (VS) gains increasingly hinge on antiretroviral adherence among people with HIV (PWH) retained in care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that unsuppressed viral load among PWH in care accounts for 20% of onward transmission. HIV intervention strategies include 'data to care' (D2C)-using surveillance to identify out-of-care PWH for follow-up. However, most D2C efforts target care linkage, not antiretroviral adherence, and limit client-level data sharing to medical (versus support-service) providers. Drawing on lessons learnt in D2C and successful local pilots, we designed a 'data-to-suppression' intervention that offers HIV support-service programmes surveillance-based reports listing their virally unsuppressed clients and capacity-building assistance for quality-improvement activities. We aimed to scale and test the intervention in agencies delivering Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programme-funded behavioural health and housing services. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: To estimate intervention effects, this study applies a cross-sectional, stepped-wedge design to the intervention's rollout to 27 agencies randomised within matched pairs to early or delayed implementation. Data from three 12-month periods (pre-implementation, partial implementation and full implementation) will be examined to assess intervention effects on timely VS (within 6 months of a report listing the client as needing follow-up for VS). Based on projected enrolment (n=1619) and a pre-implementation outcome probability of 0.40-0.45, the detectable effect size with 80% power is an OR of 2.12 (relative risk: 1.41-1.46). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's institutional review board (protocol: 21-036) with a waiver of informed consent. Findings will be disseminated via publications, conferences and meetings including provider-agency representatives. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05140421.

Evaluation of the Revised Versus Original Ryan White Part A HIV Care Coordination Program in a Cluster-Randomized, Stepped-Wedge Trial.

BACKGROUND: To address challenges with delivery of an evidence-based HIV care coordination program (CCP), the New York City Health Department initiated a CCP redesign. We conducted a site-randomized stepped-wedge trial to evaluate effectiveness of the revised versus the original model. SETTING: The CCP is delivered in New York City hospitals, community health centers, and community-based organizations to people experiencing or at risk for poor HIV outcomes. METHODS: The outcome, timely viral suppression (TVS), was defined as achievement of viral load <200 copies/mL within 4 months among enrollees with unsuppressed viral load (≥200 copies/mL). Seventeen original-CCP provider agencies were randomized within matched pairs to early (August 2018) or delayed (May 2019) starts of revised-model implementation. Data from 3 periods were examined to compare revised versus original CCP effects on TVS. The primary analysis of the intervention effect applied fully conditional maximum likelihood estimation together with an exact, conditional P -value and an exact test-based 95% CI. We assigned each trial enrollee the implementation level of their site (based on a three-component measure) and tested for association with TVS, adjusting for period and study arm. RESULTS: Over 3 nine-month periods, 960 individuals were eligible for trial inclusion (intention to treat). The odds ratio of TVS versus no TVS comparing revised with original CCP was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.45, 1.7). Thus, the revised program yielded slightly lower TVS, although the effect was statistically nonsignificant. TVS was not significantly associated with revised-CCP implementation level. CONCLUSION: Program revisions did not increase TVS, irrespective of the implementation level.

Impact of Informed Consent and Education on Care Engagement After Opioid Initiation in the Veterans Health Administration.

Objective: To ensure all patients receiving long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) understand the risks, benefits and treatment alternatives, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) released a national policy in 2014 to standardize a signature informed consent (SIC) process. We evaluated the impact of this policy on medical follow-up after LTOT initiation, a guideline recommended practice. Methods: Using VHA administrative data, we identified patients initiating LTOT between May 2013 and May 2016. We used an interrupted time series design to compare the monthly rates of medical follow-up within 30 days and primary care visits within 3 months after LTOT initiation across three periods: 12 months before the policy (Year 1); 12 months after policy release (Year 2); and 12-24 months after policy release, when the SIC process was mandatory (Year 3). Results: Among the 409,895 patients who experienced 758,416 LTOT initiations, medical follow-up within 30 days and primary care engagement within 3 months increased by 4% between Year 1 and Year 3. Compared to Year 1, patients in Year 3 were 1.12 times more likely to have any medical follow-up (95% CI: 1.10, 1.13) and 1.13 times more likely to have a primary care visit (95% CI: 1.12, 1.15). Facilities with a greater proportion of patients receiving SIC had increased medical follow-up (RR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.07) and primary care engagement (RR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.10). Conclusion: The VHA's SIC policy is associated with increased medical follow-up among patients initiating LTOT, which may result in improved patient safety and has implications for other healthcare settings.

A Multifaceted Evaluation of a COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program in King County, Washington.

CONTEXT: Despite the massive scale of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) programs operating worldwide, the evidence supporting the intervention's public health impact is limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) CI/CT program, including its reach, timeliness, effect on isolation and quarantine (I&Q) adherence, and potential to mitigate pandemic-related hardships. DESIGN: This program evaluation used descriptive statistics to analyze surveillance records, case and contact interviews, referral records, and survey data provided by a sample of cases who had recently ended isolation. SETTING: The PHSKC is one of the largest governmental local health departments in the United States. It serves more than 2.2 million people who reside in Seattle and 38 other municipalities. PARTICIPANTS: King County residents who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between July 2020 and June 2021. INTERVENTION: The PHSKC integrated COVID-19 CI/CT with prevention education and service provision. RESULTS: The PHSKC CI/CT team interviewed 42 900 cases (82% of cases eligible for CI/CT), a mean of 6.1 days after symptom onset and 3.4 days after SARS-CoV-2 testing. Cases disclosed the names and addresses of 10 817 unique worksites (mean = 0.8/interview) and 11 432 other recently visited locations (mean = 0.5/interview) and provided contact information for 62 987 household members (mean = 2.7/interview) and 14 398 nonhousehold contacts (mean = 0.3/interview). The CI/CT team helped arrange COVID-19 testing for 5650 contacts, facilitated grocery delivery for 7253 households, and referred 9127 households for financial assistance. End of I&Q Survey participants (n = 304, 54% of sampled) reported self-notifying an average of 4 nonhousehold contacts and 69% agreed that the information and referrals provided by the CI/CT team helped them stay in isolation. CONCLUSIONS: In the 12-month evaluation period, CI/CT reached 42 611 households and identified thousands of exposure venues. The timing of CI/CT relative to infectiousness and difficulty eliciting nonhousehold contacts may have attenuated the intervention's effect. Through promotion of I&Q guidance and services, CI/CT can help mitigate pandemic-related hardships.

COVID-19 Incidence and Death Rates Among Unvaccinated and Fully Vaccinated Adults with and Without Booster Doses During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Emergence - 25 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4-December 25, 2021.

Previous reports of COVID-19 case, hospitalization, and death rates by vaccination status† indicate that vaccine protection against infection, as well as serious COVID-19 illness for some groups, declined with the emergence of the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and waning of vaccine-induced immunity (1-4). During August-November 2021, CDC recommended§ additional primary COVID-19 vaccine doses among immunocompromised persons and booster doses among persons aged ≥18 years (5). The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant emerged in the United States during December 2021 (6) and by December 25 accounted for 72% of sequenced lineages (7). To assess the impact of full vaccination with additional and booster doses (booster doses),¶ case and death rates and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated among unvaccinated and fully vaccinated adults by receipt of booster doses during pre-Delta (April-May 2021), Delta emergence (June 2021), Delta predominance (July-November 2021), and Omicron emergence (December 2021) periods in the United States. During 2021, averaged weekly, age-standardized case IRRs among unvaccinated persons compared with fully vaccinated persons decreased from 13.9 pre-Delta to 8.7 as Delta emerged, and to 5.1 during the period of Delta predominance. During October-November, unvaccinated persons had 13.9 and 53.2 times the risks for infection and COVID-19-associated death, respectively, compared with fully vaccinated persons who received booster doses, and 4.0 and 12.7 times the risks compared with fully vaccinated persons without booster doses. When the Omicron variant emerged during December 2021, case IRRs decreased to 4.9 for fully vaccinated persons with booster doses and 2.8 for those without booster doses, relative to October-November 2021. The highest impact of booster doses against infection and death compared with full vaccination without booster doses was recorded among persons aged 50-64 and ≥65 years. Eligible persons should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Correlates of personal health record registration and utilization among veterans with HIV.

OBJECTIVE: We examined correlates of registration and utilization of the Veteran Health Administration's (VHA) personal health record (PHR), My HealtheVet (MHV), among a national cohort of veterans living with HIV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using VHA administrative data, we matched veterans with HIV who registered for MHV in fiscal year 2012-2018 (n = 8589) to 8589 veterans with HIV who did not register for MHV. We compared demographic and geographic characteristics, housing status, comorbidities, and non-VHA care between MHV registrants and nonregistrants to identify correlates of MHV registration. Among registrants, we examined the association between these characteristics and MHV tool use (prescription refill, record download, secure messaging, view labs, and view appointments). RESULTS: MHV registrants were more likely to be younger, women, White, and to have bipolar disorder, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis than nonregistrants. Having a substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis or a higher Elixhauser score was associated with lower odds of MHV registration. Among registrants, women were less likely to use prescription refill. Patients who were at risk of homelessness in the past year were less likely to use secure messaging and, along with those who were homeless, were less likely to use view labs and prescription refill. Bipolar disorder and depression were associated with increased secure messaging use. Diagnoses of SUD and alcohol use disorder were both associated with lower rates of prescription refill. DISCUSSION: Among veterans living with HIV, we identified significant differences in PHR registration and utilization by race, sex, age, housing status, and diagnosis.

Types of Stroke Among People Living With HIV in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of stroke in people living with HIV (PLWH) do not use verified stroke diagnoses, are small, and/or do not differentiate stroke types and subtypes. SETTING: CNICS, a U.S. multisite clinical cohort of PLWH in care. METHODS: We implemented a centralized adjudication stroke protocol to identify stroke type, subtype, and precipitating conditions identified as direct causes including infection and illicit drug use in a large diverse HIV cohort. RESULTS: Among 26,514 PLWH, there were 401 strokes, 75% of which were ischemic. Precipitating factors such as sepsis or same-day cocaine use were identified in 40% of ischemic strokes. Those with precipitating factors were younger, had more severe HIV disease, and fewer traditional stroke risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. Ischemic stroke subtypes included cardioembolic (20%), large vessel atherosclerosis (13%), and small vessel (24%) ischemic strokes. Individuals with small vessel strokes were older, were more likely to have a higher current CD4 cell count than those with cardioembolic strokes and had the highest mean blood pressure of the ischemic stroke subtypes. CONCLUSION: Ischemic stroke, particularly small vessel and cardioembolic subtypes, were the most common strokes among PLWH. Traditional and HIV-related risk factors differed by stroke type/subtype. Precipitating factors including infections and drug use were common. These results suggest that there may be different biological phenomena occurring among PLWH and that understanding HIV-related and traditional risk factors and in particular precipitating factors for each type/subtype may be key to understanding, and therefore preventing, strokes among PLWH.

HIV Viremia and Risk of Stroke Among People Living with HIV Who Are Using Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Rates of stroke are higher in people living with HIV compared with age-matched uninfected individuals. Causes of elevated stroke risk, including the role of viremia, are poorly defined. METHODS: Between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2014, we identified incident strokes among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy at five sites across the United States. We considered three parameterizations of viral load (VL) including (1) baseline (most recent VL before study entry), (2) time-updated, and (3) cumulative VL (copy-days/mL of virus). We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for stroke risk comparing the 75th percentile ("high VL") to the 25th percentile ("low VL") of baseline and time-updated VL. We used marginal structural Cox models, with most models adjusted for traditional stroke risk factors, to estimate HRs for stroke associated with cumulative VL. RESULTS: Among 15,974 people living with HIV, 139 experienced a stroke (113 ischemic; 18 hemorrhagic; eight were unknown type) over a median follow-up of 4.2 years. Median baseline VL was 38 copies/mL (interquartile interval: 24, 3,420). High baseline VL was associated with increased risk of both ischemic (HR: 1.3; 95% CI = 0.96-1.7) and hemorrhagic stroke (HR: 3.1; 95% CI = 1.6-5.9). In time-updated models, high VL was also associated with an increased risk of any stroke (HR: 1.8; 95% CI = 1.4-2.3). We observed no association between cumulative VL and stroke risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated HIV VL may increase stroke risk, regardless of previous VL levels.

Corrigendum to: Correlates of personal health record registration and utilization among veterans with HIV.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooab029.].

Barriers, Facilitators, and Cost of Integrating HIV-Related Activities Into Sexually Transmitted Disease Partner Services in Jackson, Mississippi.

BACKGROUND: Many US health departments now integrate HIV-related outcomes (e.g., relinkage to HIV care and preexposure prophylaxis [PrEP]) into sexually transmitted disease (STD) partner services (PS) programs. We sought to determine the barriers, facilitators, and cost of integrating these activities into PS. METHODS: From 2016 to 2018, the Mississippi State Department of Health integrated 3 new activities into STD PS: HIV testing for partners of HIV-negative men who have sex with men with gonorrhea/chlamydia, relinkage to HIV care for STD PS recipients previously diagnosed with HIV, and PrEP referrals. We conducted direct observations and interviews with disease intervention specialists (DIS) in Jackson to assess barriers and facilitators to implementing these activities. We completed time and motion studies with 8 DIS and case tracking forms for 90 unique cases to estimate the incremental staff time and associated personnel cost of added services compared with a standard PS case. RESULTS: Disease intervention specialists were optimistic about integrating HIV-related activities but noted disparate data systems, nonsystematic documentation, and lack of training as barriers. The mean time for a standard STD PS case without HIV-related activities was 195 minutes (cost, $77.69/case). The cost to conduct PS for HIV-negative men who have sex with men with gonorrhea/chlamydia was 36% higher than a standard case. Integrating relinkage to care and PrEP referrals resulted in a 44% and 20% increase in cost, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating HIV care relinkage and PrEP referrals into STD partner services was generally acceptable by DIS and added marginal cost per case. Coupling these cost metrics with an assessment of the effectiveness of these activities can inform prioritization of partner services activities.

Evaluation of an Emergency Department and Hospital-Based Data Exchange to Improve HIV Care Engagement and Viral Suppression.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient (IP) admissions may provide an opportunity to reengage poorly engaged people living with HIV and facilitate viral suppression. In 2015, Public Health Seattle and King County partnered with the University of Washington Medicine to implement a real-time data exchange to identify virally unsuppressed people living with HIV seen at the ED/IP hospital and reengage them in HIV care. We evaluated the impact of the data exchange on care engagement and viral suppression. METHODS: Public Health Seattle and King County received a text alert on weekdays 8 AM to 6 PM for ED/IP patients previously diagnosed with HIV with a most recent viral load ≥200 copies/mL. We compared viral load testing <3 months and viral suppression <6 months after an alert-eligible visit in the 2 years after intervention and the 7 to 30 months before intervention. To account for secular trends, we used difference-in-differences models to compare patients with alert-window visits to patients with visits outside the alert window before and after intervention. RESULTS: Patients with visits within the alert window in the postintervention period were 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-1.20) times more likely to have a viral load test within 3 months after an ED visit/IP admission and 1.50 (95% CI, 1.27-1.76) times more likely to achieve viral suppression within 6 months than patients in the preintervention period. However, care engagement (difference-in-differences relative risk, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.84-1.18) and viral suppression (difference-in-differences relative risk, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.84-1.20) trends were similar among patients with visits outside the alert window. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time data exchange with ED/IP hospitals was associated with improved viral suppression, but not increased care engagement. However, our results may reflect secular trends resulting from diverse interventions, of which ours was only one. More efforts are needed to improve the effectiveness of relinkage interventions guided by real-time data exchange.

Comparing Methods for Record Linkage for Public Health Action: Matching Algorithm Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Many public health departments use record linkage between surveillance data and external data sources to inform public health interventions. However, little guidance is available to inform these activities, and many health departments rely on deterministic algorithms that may miss many true matches. In the context of public health action, these missed matches lead to missed opportunities to deliver interventions and may exacerbate existing health inequities. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the performance of record linkage algorithms commonly used in public health practice. METHODS: We compared five deterministic (exact, Stenger, Ocampo 1, Ocampo 2, and Bosh) and two probabilistic record linkage algorithms (fastLink and beta record linkage [BRL]) using simulations and a real-world scenario. We simulated pairs of datasets with varying numbers of errors per record and the number of matching records between the two datasets (ie, overlap). We matched the datasets using each algorithm and calculated their recall (ie, sensitivity, the proportion of true matches identified by the algorithm) and precision (ie, positive predictive value, the proportion of matches identified by the algorithm that were true matches). We estimated the average computation time by performing a match with each algorithm 20 times while varying the size of the datasets being matched. In a real-world scenario, HIV and sexually transmitted disease surveillance data from King County, Washington, were matched to identify people living with HIV who had a syphilis diagnosis in 2017. We calculated the recall and precision of each algorithm compared with a composite standard based on the agreement in matching decisions across all the algorithms and manual review. RESULTS: In simulations, BRL and fastLink maintained a high recall at nearly all data quality levels, while being comparable with deterministic algorithms in terms of precision. Deterministic algorithms typically failed to identify matches in scenarios with low data quality. All the deterministic algorithms had a shorter average computation time than the probabilistic algorithms. BRL had the slowest overall computation time (14 min when both datasets contained 2000 records). In the real-world scenario, BRL had the lowest trade-off between recall (309/309, 100.0%) and precision (309/312, 99.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Probabilistic record linkage algorithms maximize the number of true matches identified, reducing gaps in the coverage of interventions and maximizing the reach of public health action.

Racial and ethnic disparities in use of a personal health record by veterans living with HIV.

OBJECTIVE: To examine sociodemographic characteristics associated with use of My HealtheVet (MHV) by veterans living with HIV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Veterans Health Administration administrative data were used to identify a cohort of veterans living with HIV in fiscal years 2011-2017. Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine demographic characteristics and racial/ethnic differences in MHV registration and tool use. Chi-Square tests were performed to assess associations between race/ethnicity and MHV registration and tool use. RESULTS: The highest proportion of registrants were non-Hispanic White veterans living with HIV (59%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (55%) and Black veterans living with HIV (40%). Chi-Square analyses revealed that: (1) MHV account registration was significantly lower for both Black and Hispanic/Latino veterans in comparison to White veterans and (2) Black MHV registrants were less likely to utilize any MHV tool compared with White MHV registrants including Blue Button record download, medication refills, secure messaging, lab, and appointment views. DISCUSSION: In line with prior research on personal health record (PHR) use among non-veteran populations, these findings show racial and ethnic inequities in MHV use among veterans living with HIV. Racial and ethnic minorities may be less likely to use PHRs for a myriad of reasons, including PHR privacy concerns, decreased educational attainment, and limited access to the internet. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to examine racial and ethnic disparities in use of MHV tools by veterans living with HIV and utilizing Veterans Health Administration health care. Future research should examine potential moderating factors linked to decreased PHR use among racial and ethnic minority veterans, which could inform strategies to increase PHR use among vulnerable populations.

Integrating Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Into Syphilis Partner Services in Mississippi to Improve Human Immunodeficiency Virus Case Finding.

BACKGROUND: Mississippi has the 10th highest rate of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the United States. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) integrated partner HIV testing into syphilis partner services (PS) in 2014, but the effectiveness of this as an HIV case finding strategy has not been evaluated. METHODS: We identified all early syphilis (primary, secondary, and early latent) case records reported from July 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, excluding case records for people concurrently newly diagnosed with HIV. Among sex partners of these people, we identified new diagnoses of early syphilis and HIV. We calculated the number needed to interview as the number of syphilis index case patients interviewed divided by the number of partners newly diagnosed with early syphilis or HIV. RESULTS: A total of 1535 (95%) of the 1619 early syphilis index case patients were interviewed for PS. These case patients named 2267 partners, of whom 1868 (82%) were contacted by MSDH. Among partners, 1508 (81%) tested for syphilis and 745 (56%) of 1321 partners not previously diagnosed with HIV were tested for HIV. Partner services identified 696 new early syphilis case patients (46%) and 24 (3.2%) new HIV case patients among partners. Sixty-four index case patient interviews were needed to identify 1 new case of HIV, and 2 interviews were needed to identify 1 new case of syphilis among partners. CONCLUSIONS: Syphilis PS allowed MSDH to interact with 1592 men who have sex with men over a 30-month period and was effective for identifying people newly infected with early syphilis and HIV. Increasing HIV testing among partners of syphilis case patients could increase HIV case finding in Mississippi.

A Web Application to Facilitate Syphilis Reactor Grid Evaluations.

BACKGROUND: Many health departments use a "reactor grid" to determine which laboratory-reported syphilis serologic test results require investigation. We developed a Web-based tool, the Syphilis Reactor Grid Evaluator (SRGE), to facilitate health department reactor grid evaluations and test the tool using data from Seattle & King County, Washington. METHODS: We developed SRGE using the R Shiny Web application framework. When populated with a data set including titer results and final disposition codes, SRGE displays the percent of verified early syphilis cases by serologic titer result and patient age in each cell of the grid. The results can be optionally stratified by sex, test type, and previous rapid plasma reagin titer. The impact of closing laboratory results without investigation in cells selected by the user is dynamically computed. The SRGE calculates the percent of all laboratory reports closed ("efficiency gained"), the proportion of all early syphilis cases closed without investigation ("case finding loss"), and the ratio of percent of cases identified for investigation to percent of all laboratory reports investigated ("efficiency ratio"). After defining algorithms, users can compare them side-by-side, combine subgroup-specific algorithms, and export results. We used SRGE to compare the current Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) reactor grid to 5 alternate algorithms. RESULTS: Of 13,504 rapid plasma reagin results reported to PHSKC from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2015, 1565 were linked to verified early syphilis cases. Updating PHSKC's current reactor grid could result in an efficiency gain of 4.8% to 25.2% (653-3403 laboratory reports) and case finding loss of 1% to 8.4% (10-99 fewer cases investigated). CONCLUSIONS: The Syphilis Reactor Grid Evaluator can be used to rapidly evaluate alternative approaches to optimizing the reactor grid. Changing the reactor grid in King County to close more laboratory results without investigation could improve efficiency with minimal impact on syphilis case finding.