Ryan White HIV/AIDS program recipients more likely than non-recipients to be retained in care using six different retention measures

ABSTRACT

Retention in care (RiC) is crucial for maintaining HIV health. We examined the relationship between receipt of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) supplementary services and six different measures of RiC among 2,288 adults living with HIV who received HIV primary care services at a large, academically-affiliated HIV/AIDS clinic in the southeastern United States in 2016. The independent variable of interest was RWHAP supplementary services, which referred to whether patients received documented non-medical wraparound supplementary services. The outcome was six different measures of RiC: the Institute of Medicine (IOM) indicator, 6-month gap, 4-month constancy, missed visits dichotomous, missed visits count, and visit adherence. Separate multivariable models were fit for each RiC outcome. Receipt of supplementary RWHAP services was significantly (p < .05) and positively associated with RiC across all six measures (test statistic, 95% confidence interval): IOM (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.88, 2.16–3.83), 6-month gap (aOR = 1.76, 1.48–2.09), 4-month visit constancy (aOR  =  2.03, 1.72–2.39), missed visits dichotomous (aOR  =  1.40, 1.16–1.68), missed visit count (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) = 0.77, 0.67–0.88), and visit adherence (adjusted beta coefficient (adjβ) = 0.05, 0.02–0.06). Our findings suggest that receipt of RWHAP services is important for retention in care, regardless of the measure employed.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
• retention in care

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.