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. 2019 Jul;31(7):816-820.
doi: 10.1080/09540121.2018.1549724. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Characterizing the HIV care continuum among a community sample of black men who have sex with men in the United States

Cristian J Chandler  1   2 , Jordan M Sang  1   2 , Leigh A Bukowski  1   2 , Elí Andrade  1   2 , Lisa A Eaton  3 , Ronald D Stall  1   2 , Derrick D Matthews  2   4
Affiliations

Characterizing the HIV care continuum among a community sample of black men who have sex with men in the United States

Cristian J Chandler et al. AIDS Care. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) have the highest HIV incidence rates among all men who have sex with men (MSM) and have been less likely than other MSM to be diagnosed, linked or retained in care for HIV. The Promoting Our Worth, Equality, and Resilience (POWER) study administered a behavioral health survey and HIV test to BMSM to estimate the HIV continuum of care among a community-derived sample. Of the N = 1,680 BMSM living with HIV, n = 956 (56.9%) were aware of their HIV-positive status. BMSM who had been previously diagnosed reported progression through the care continuum at greater than 80% for linkage to medical care (97.6%), retention in medical care (97.3%), prescription of antiretroviral therapy (93.6%) and viral suppression (86.4%). Results of this analysis reveal the urgent need to ensure BMSM are being screened and diagnosed. Additionally, community-driven samples are a promising method offering the opportunity to build on the resilience of BMSM progressing though the continuum as well as engage BMSM not yet in care. Lastly, such methods can assist in communicating with those lost to retention.

Keywords: BMSM; HIV; community sampling; continuum of care; observational epidemiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest to report for any of this paper’s contributing authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
HIV care continuum among HIV-positive Black MSM in POWER: United States, 2014–2017.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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