Download or read book The HIV Care Continuum in New Jersey written by Debbie Ysmin Mohammed and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gaps in Medical Care were identified in 2010 among HIV-infected persons in the United States. Linkage to medical care occurred for 77%, of whom 51% were were retained in medical care. Of those recieving anti-retroviral medications, 77% had a suppressed viral load (SVL). New jersey requires baseline evaluation of these measures to identify gaps that may exist in linking and retaining HIV-infected persons in medical care and viral load measures among population groups. We obtained data from the New Jersey Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS) that included 7289 newly diagnosed persons from 2007-2011 and 36,763 living HIV-infectedpersons; diagnosed at aged greater than or equal to 13 years and by 12/31/2009. ROutine measures reported by medical providers and laboratories included positive test results, CD4+ counts and HIV viral loads in addition to demographic variables. Time to linkage to medical care was evaluated by survival analysis. The relative risks (RR) and adjusted RR (ARR) were calculated for retention in care and SVL by exponentiating the coefficients from a generalized linear model with a log link and binomial outcome distribution. The mean monitored viral load (MMVL) was calculated using methods recommended by the Centers for Disease COntrol and Prevention. In 2007-2011, 71.6% of newly diagnosed persons were linked to medical care in less than or equal to 90 days. Amng HIV-infected persons tested in non-clinical sites, a higher percentage tested by rapid were linked to medical care (62.3%vs. 54.0%) and in a shorter time (32 vs. 60 days), compared to EIA-WB. Among HIV-infected persons diagnosed by 2009, 47.6% were engaged in medical care during 2010-2011. The 2010 MMVL was 316 copies/ml and was higher among HIV-infected persons in the following high prevalence cities: Irvington, Newark, East Orange, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, and Camden. Overall, the SVL was 57.7% and slightly higher in Jersey City, a high prevalence city (60.4%). The findings in this evaluation provide baseline measures for linkage to, retention in medical care and viral suppression. Continued support in prevention and healthcare efforts in New Jersey is needed so that improvements towards the National HIV/AIDS strategy goals may be achieved.