Unmet Needs for Ancillary Services and Associations with Clinical Outcomes Among Transgender Women with Diagnosed HIV: Medical Monitoring Project, United States, 2015-2020.

Abstract

Purpose: Access to ancillary services-including HIV support services, non-HIV clinical services, and subsistence services-can support care engagement and viral suppression and reduce disparities among people with HIV (PWH). We used representative U.S. data to assess differences in unmet needs for ancillary services between transgender women with HIV and other PWH. In addition, we examined associations between unmet needs and clinical outcomes among transgender women. Methods: We analyzed 2015-2020 Medical Monitoring Project data among transgender women (N = 362), cisgender men (N = 17,319), and cisgender women (N = 6016) with HIV. We reported weighted percentages for characteristics, and reported adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) controlling for race/ethnicity and age, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression with predicted marginal means to assess differences between groups. Results: Among transgender women, unmet needs were highest for dental care (24.9%), shelter or housing (13.9%), and transportation assistance (12.6%). Transgender women were more likely than cisgender men to have unmet subsistence needs. Among transgender women, unmet needs for ancillary services were negatively associated with many clinical outcomes after adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. Unmet needs for subsistence services were associated with higher levels of antiretroviral therapy nonadherence (aPR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.13-1.70) and detectable viral loads (aPR: 1.47; 1.09-1.98), emergency room visits (aPR: 1.42; 1.06-1.90), and depression (aPR: 2.74; 1.83-4.10) or anxiety (aPR: 3.20; 2.05-5.00) symptoms. Conclusions: Transgender women with HIV were more likely than cisgender men with HIV to experience unmet needs for subsistence services-likely a reflection of substantial socioeconomic disadvantage. Addressing unmet needs is an essential step for improving care outcomes among transgender women with HIV.