Tag: Health Services

Despite the wide availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) as an effective treatment option for HIV, a substantial portion of people with HIV (PWH) in the United States remain out of care or inconsistently take their medications, leading to an unsuppressed viral load despite diagnosis—a critical gap that undermines both individual health outcomes and public health objectives.

This presentation offers a clinical and social work-centered approach to addressing the mental health needs of Black LGBTQIA+ men through trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and identity-affirming strategies. This session will explore how toxic stress stemming from early-life adversity impacts emotional regulation, relationship-building, and self-worth. Special emphasis will be placed on how systemic oppression, societal stigma, and the lack of culturally competent mental health services heighten these challenges.

Contingency Management (CM) is a behavioral intervention option for stimulant use that involves immediate, tangible rewards to individuals to reinforce positive self-identified behavior change. In 2023, in response to rising rates of stimulant overdose deaths, California became the first state in the U.S. to offer CM as a benefit through public insurance. Having already embraced CM over two decades prior through the Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project (PROP)—originally designed for men who have sex with men to reduce sexually transmitted infections through reducing methamphetamine use—San Francisco was well positioned to expand this model, and over the last two years expanded CM to more than a dozen programs throughout the city benefitting diverse populations.

Using Oregon’s All-Payer All-Claims dataset (2016–2023), this analysis examines GAC utilization among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents, identifying disparities by insurance type, age, and sex assigned at birth—even within one of the nation’s most affirming policy environments. Quantitative findings are contextualized with lived experience: the journey of raising a ten-year-old transgender son, illustrating, through narrative and video excerpts, how timely, evidence-based, and affirming care fosters gender euphoria, confidence, safety, and family cohesion.

This presentation will share key outcomes, implementation strategies, lessons learned, and future adaptations aimed at reducing barriers and promoting employment equity for TGNC youth. Us Helping Us is also exploring opportunities to expand the program and its impact.

Limited evidence suggests that doxycycline may be comparable to penicillin for the treatment of syphilis, but perhaps less so for latent stages. A total of 655 individuals were included, 539 who were treated with benzathine PCN G (BPG) and 116 treated with doxycycline. For our primary analysis, we included all RPR titers up to 24 months after treatment for all stages of syphilis treated from April 2022 through September 2023.

In 2023, in response to rising syphilis rates and persistent disparities in STI outcomes, we launched a free, community-based STI clinic to expand access to testing and treatment. Prior to this, our services were primarily focused on providing PrEP and HIV care to the LGBT population. In 2024 alone, the clinic served 871 patients—69% of whom identified as ethnic minorities, a population disproportionately impacted by barriers to healthcare access, including PrEP.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are a growing public health concern, particularly for women and girls, who experience disproportionately high rates and rising incidence. Barriers such as cost, transportation and geographic access, and appointment availability limit access to timely STI care. For those who do access family planning care, integrating STI testing into comprehensive visits can reduce the need for repeat appointments and improve health and wellbeing.

In recent years, sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates in the United States have risen dramatically, with more than 2.4 million STIs reported in the United States alone (CDC, 2024). STIs can have a profound impact on health, including infertility, neurological and cardiovascular disease, stillbirths, and increased risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This growing epidemic demands urgent action to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of STIs.

Michigan’s hepatitis C (HCV) cases have been on the decline since 2022, due to several coordinated efforts including, eliminating Medicaid restrictions, partnering with a pharmaceutical company to offer low-cost direct acting-antivirals (DAA), to hiring an academic detailer to educate medical students and providers, to creating a hepatitis C disease intervention specialist (DIS) program to link individuals to care.

The Department of Health and Human Services developed a National Strategic Plan to eliminate hepatitis C (HCV) as a public health threat by 2030. However, many barriers to accessing care remain. Pharmacists have increasingly played a role in the treatment of HCV and can support patients and care teams with navigating barriers at multiple steps along the care cascade. The Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) model offers a strategy to leverage expertise of embedded pharmacists to improve HCV treatment access and outcomes.

Expanded screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection aims to improve awareness of diagnosis, yet treatment uptake remains suboptimal due to structural, social, and individual-level barriers. People who use drugs face further challenges in accessing HCV treatment due to fragmented care, stigma, and limited support. Strategies to overcome these challenges are needed to improve health equity and achieve HCV elimination. We developed a quality improvement pilot project to integrate expedited DAA initiation, defined as prescribing of DAA during hospital admission.

A translational research project implemented at a Sacramento County sexual health center to reduce barriers to Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. To address elevated prevalence of Hepatitis C in the area, Sacramento County Public Health’s Sexual Health Clinic (SHC) opted to participate in a research project to develop and implement organizational supports and workflows to improve rates of HCV treatment for patients served in this setting.

The Target4 project partners with the University of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Care Clinic to integrate Hepatitis C telehealth services into syringe services programs throughout the commonwealth to address access barriers, improve treatment outcomes, and progress Hepatitis C elimination efforts in the Commonwealth. This presentation will discuss the process used to integrate telehealth services into the harm reduction environment in partnership with the local health departments, and share outcomes, successes, and lessons learned along the way.

This study aims to assess the follow-up eligibility of individuals with HCV presumed LTFU. Pre-contact investigation (PCI) to assess ineligibility, including due to death or outdated contact information, was encouraged.  Data came from the patient registries of 23 of 30 grant-funded organizations in different clinical, community and geographical settings. Data sources included patient, state, prison, and public records. 

In the US and globally, there have been two secular events exogenous to the HCV epidemic that has impacted HCV negatively. The first is well documented with the accompanying rise in the Opioid epidemic resulting in the uptick in HCV infections particularly among the population younger than the baby boomer generation. The second is the advent of COVID-19 that caused disruptions in testing, linkage and treatment of people living with Hepatitis C. We showcase the impact COVID 19 had on our testing program in Alabama.

People who use drugs (PWUDs) face structural barriers to access prevention and care for hepatitis C (HCV) infection. While many inpatient substance use treatment programs (ISUTPs) often screen for HCV, few provide treatment, leading to missed opportunities for care. This presentation will introduce a client-centered telehealth model, initiating HCV treatment during detoxification and rehabilitation to enhance early engagement and ensure continuity of care.

Understanding that the complexity and segmentation of the healthcare system can pose unique challenges to providing medical care in non-traditional settings in the United States, a formative evaluation was conducted to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness, and whether enrolled clients completed the care cascade measured by four performance indicators: linkage to care, treatment initiation, treatment completion, and achievement of SVR-12.

This session presents data from the National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (2023) conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to present the current state of availability of testing and treatment services for HIV, HCV, and STIs.

This systematic review explores the role of CAB + RPV-LA injectables in antiretroviral therapy (ART), with a focus on patient-reported outcomes from five key clinical trials.

In this session, participants will learn about the core elements of a community -based syndemic approach to HIV care engagement [prevention, care, treatment, and supportive services] to enhance capacity to support PLWH throughout the HIV care continuum. This workshop will demonstrate how community health workers improve involvement in comprehensive prevention services.

Recent data from the U.S estimated that over half (57%) of transgender women (TW), aged 50+, are living with HIV. Findings lacked analysis by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, but found 62% HIV prevalence among Black trans women, suggesting potential HIV disparities for older TW of color. This study focused on HIV outcomes and health services access for TW aged 50 and older, making important contributions to the context of care for this population sub-group, who shoulder disproportionately high HIV prevalence. Findings highlight the critical role of support services in HIV care engagement and the potential for expanded access and intergenerational peer support programs to ameliorate HIV-related disparities based on age and race.

This presentation explores replicable models of syndemic prevention in underserved Southern communities.

This presentation will explore critical considerations in the management of HIV in the context of pregnancy, focusing on evidence-based practices and clinical guidelines. Divided into three clinically relevant scenarios, the session will address: (1) treatment and monitoring of HIV in pregnant individuals, (2) postnatal management of infants with in utero exposure to HIV, and (3) considerations for HIV-positive parents who plan to breastfeed. Each topic will be anchored by a clinical case, offering participants an opportunity to apply current guidelines. Emphasis will be placed on reducing risk of perinatal HIV transmission, optimizing maternal and infant outcomes, and navigating ethical and cultural factors in decision making. Attendees will leave with practical clinical pearls and an updated understanding of best practices in HIV care during pregnancy and the postpartum period.