Health Equity Implications of People Living With HIV

Introduction

HIV diagnosis rates are not evenly distributed and significantly impact black men and women residing in Georgia and Louisiana. Additionally, reporting in these specific states demonstrate late HIV diagnosis and a failure to link patients to care.

Methods

In response to this alarming issue, the “End the Epidemic” initiative l addresses structural barriers in HIV care impacting Black communities in Georgia, Louisiana by implementing: 1) Conduct asset mapping to examine the health systems gaps that prevent healthcare utilization for PLWHA. Train diverse healthcare professionals, learners and leaders, on the social/political determinants of health to develop sustainable and solutions-driven policies towards the achievement of health equity for PLWHA. 2) Assess jurisdictional policies which exacerbate/alleviate gaps in the HIV care continuum impacting PLWHA. Convene an HIV Equity Task Force to develop health equity strategies for retaining PLWHA. 3) Increase HIV data availability on the Health Equity Tracker to improve access to data for individuals and organizations. Provide technical assistance and policy assessments to jurisdictions concerning data practices, including tracking and measuring health inequities for PLWHA. Develop high-quality communications resources for community members, leaders, and influencers on HIV inequities. This initiative will apply a mixed methods approach to the data collection and analysis component of the project, as well as a process evaluation.

Conclusion

This novel approach will 1) Increase access and utilization of culturally competent healthcare to Black people impacted by the HIV epidemic 2) Gain insight into the disruption of the healthcare delivery system due to COVID-19 in the Black community and realign HIV service for PLWHA 3) Influence clinical provider training in HIV and 4) Initiate early engagement with experienced clinicians practicing in Black communities in the aforementioned cities.