Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Access to HIV Care Interventions: A Qualitative Analysis of the Positive Charge Initiative.
Research indicates that less than half of people living with HIV (PLWH) have undetectable levels of virus, despite recent findings that viral load suppression dramatically reduces the transmissibility of HIV. Linkage to HIV care is a crucial initial step, yet we know relatively little about how to effectively implement linkage interventions to reach PLWH who are not in care. AIDS United's initiative, Positive Charge (PC), funded five U.S. sites to develop and implement comprehensive linkage interventions. Evaluation of the initiative included qualitative interviews with management and service staff from each intervention site. Sites experienced barriers and facilitators to implementation on multiple environmental, organization, and personnel levels. Successful strategies included developing early relationships with collaborating partners, finding ways to share key information among agencies, and using evaluation data to build support among leadership staff. Lessons learned will be useful for organizations that develop and implement future interventions targeting hard-to-reach, out-of-care PLWH.
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Suzanne
S
Kinsky
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Catherine H
CH
Maulsby
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Kriti M
KM
Jain
AIDS United, Washington, D.C.
Vignetta
V
Charles
AIDS United, Washington, D.C.
Maura
M
Riordan
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
David R
DR
Holtgrave
D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014481:United States