Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr 24:9:65-75.
doi: 10.2147/AHMT.S158759. eCollection 2018.

What does it mean to be youth-friendly? Results from qualitative interviews with health care providers and clinic staff serving youth and young adults living with HIV

Parya Saberi  1 , Kristin Ming  1 , Carol Dawson-Rose  2
Affiliations

What does it mean to be youth-friendly? Results from qualitative interviews with health care providers and clinic staff serving youth and young adults living with HIV

Parya Saberi et al. Adolesc Health Med Ther. .

Abstract

Purpose: Given the consistent associations between younger age and numerous suboptimal clinical outcomes, there is a critical need for more research in youth living with human immunodeficiency virus (YLWH) and tailoring of health care delivery to the unique and complex needs of this population. The objective of this study was to examine the facilitators of and barriers to engagement in care among YLHW at the system and provider/staff level, as well as the barriers to using technology-based forms of communication with YLWH to improve retention and engagement in care.

Patients and methods: We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with health care providers and staff members at the clinics and organizations serving YLWH in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Results: We interviewed 17 health care providers and staff members with a mean of 8 years of experience in providing clinical care to YLWH. Interviewees noted various facilitators of and barriers to engagement in care among YLWH, including the environment of the clinic (e.g., clinic location and service setting), provision of youth-friendly services (e.g., flexible hours and use of technology), and youth-friendly providers/staff (e.g., nonjudgmental approach). With regard to barriers to using technology in organizations and clinics, interviewees discussed the challenges at the system level (e.g., availability of technology, clinic capacity, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance), provider/staff level (e.g., time constraints and familiarity with technology), and youth level (e.g., changing of cellular telephones and relationship with provider/staff).

Conclusion: Given the need for improved clinical outcomes among YLWH, our results can provide guidance for clinics and institutions providing care for this population to enhance the youth-friendliness of their services and examine their guidelines around the use of technology.

Keywords: HIV; barriers; health care provider; technology; young adults; youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. CDC HIV Among Youth. 2015. [Accessed February 16, 2018]. Avaiable from: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/age/youth/index.html.
    1. Zanoni BC, Mayer KH. The Adolescent and young adult HIV cascade of care in the United States: exaggerated health disparities. Aids Patient Care St. 2014;28(3):128–135. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gardner EM, McLees MP, Steiner JF, del Rio C, Burman WJ. The spectrum of engagement in HIV care and its relevance to test-and-treat strategies for prevention of HIV infection. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52(6):793–800. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Horberg MA, Hurley LB, Klein DB, et al. The HIV care cascade measured over time and by age, sex, and race in a large national integrated care system. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2015;29(11):582–590. - PubMed
    1. Saberi P, Mayer K, Vittinghoff E, Naar-King S, Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIVAI Correlation between use of antiretroviral adherence devices by HIV-infected youth and plasma HIV RNA and self-reported adherence. Aids Behav. 2015;19(1):93–103. - PMC - PubMed