Partnership status and retention in care among cisgender heterosexual newly diagnosed people with HIV: a cohort study

ABSTRACT

This study examined the role of partnership status (married, unmarried-partnered, and unpartnered) on retention in care among newly diagnosed (2013–2017), cisgender heterosexual people with HIV in Birmingham, Alabama (n = 152). This study evaluated all scheduled HIV primary care provider visits for two years following diagnosis date. A kept-visit measure was calculated such that, if an individual attended ≥1 visit in each of the four 6-month intervals, they were considered to have high visit constancy. A missed-visit measure was categorized as ≥1 no-show vs. 0 no-show for first and second year after diagnosis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression models. Models were adjusted for confounding sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The study population was 76% Black, 57% male, median age of 37 years. Overall, 65% had high visit consistency and 34.5% had ≥1 no-show in both years. Compared to unpartnered, married individuals had higher visit constancy [AOR (95% CI): 2.88 (1.02, 8.16)]; no differences were observed among unmarried-partnered individuals. No differences in having ≥1 no-show among partnership status groups were observed for either year. These findings suggest potential success of interventions involving a social confidant in optimizing retention in care among newly diagnosed, heterosexual PWH.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• retention in care
• partnership
• heterosexual
• newly diagnosed

Data availability statement

Raw data were generated at UAB 1917 Clinic. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The first author is a doctoral student being funded by PS18-1802 grant. The research leading to these results received funding from grants P30 AI027767 and R24 AI067039.