Less than half of individuals living with HIV in the United States are receiving ongoing care, and only one- quarter have an undetectable viral load. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy prioritizes care and treatment of HIV- infected individuals, yet improvement in care retention rates is clearly needed. Research on HIV care has used attendance at primary care appointments to assess whether patients are in care. While medical visits are necessary, they are not sufficient and do not necessarily reflect a patient's level of engagement. Engagement in care is about the patient experience and interactions with providers and the care site. We propose to create a patient-centered Index of Engagement in HIV Care that will be framed within a model of Health Care Empowerment, which refers to participation in care in a way that is engaged, informed, collaborative, committed, and tolerant of uncertainty. We will create the index through a collaborative process of consensus- building with patients, providers, and research experts using iterative online Delphi surveys and in-person focus groups. We will then translate these narrative findings into scale items and develop them further through cognitive interviewing with patients. We will validate the index by administering i to a sample of patients undergoing the Patient Reported Outcomes within the CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) and examining retrospective, cross-sectional, and prospective appointment and viral load data. The resulting Index of Engagement in HIV Care will have implications for both clinical care and research, identifying patients who are at risk fo poor clinical outcomes and providing a metric by which to develop and evaluate interventions aiming to improve engagement in care.

Public Health Relevance

Engagement in HIV care is about the patient experience and interaction with providers and the care site. Framed by a model of Health Care Empowerment, we propose to develop an Index of Engagement in HIV Care through an iterative process of obtaining input from patients, providers, and research experts. We will then operationalize the index and validate it in a multi-site network of HIV clinical care sites (the CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems) to predict retention in care and virologic suppression.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH102198-03
Application #
8875773
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Gordon, Christopher M
Project Start
2013-08-14
Project End
2016-05-31
Budget Start
2015-07-01
Budget End
2016-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94118
Sauceda, John A; Lisha, Nadra E; Neilands, Torsten B et al. (2018) Cognitive-affective depressive symptoms and substance use among Latino and non-Latino White patients in HIV care: an analysis of the CFAR network of integrated clinical systems cohort. J Behav Med :
Sauceda, John A; Neilands, Torsten B; Johnson, Mallory O et al. (2018) An update on the Barriers to Adherence and a Definition of Self-Report Non-adherence Given Advancements in Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). AIDS Behav 22:939-947
Sauceda, John A; Wiebe, John S; Chan, Kiana et al. (2018) Acculturation, family cohesion, and mental health among Latinos living with HIV on the U.S.-Mexico border. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 24:453-458
Johnson, Mallory O; Koester, Kimberly A; Wood, Troy et al. (2017) Development of an Index of Engagement in HIV Care: An Adapted Internet-Based Delphi Process. JMIR Res Protoc 6:e224
Sauceda, John A; Johnson, Mallory O; Saberi, Parya (2016) Nonadherence as 4-day Antiretroviral Therapy Interruptions: Do Depression and Race/Ethnicity Matter as Much in the Modern Antiretroviral Therapy Era? AIDS Behav 20:2624-2628