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Abstract #150542

Dinushika Mohottige, Michael A. Schwartz, and Jennifer M. Wieland. Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, Campus Box 7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, 561-214-0098, mohottig@email.unc.edu

Issues: Studies show that adherence to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) can significantly prolong life in HIV/AIDS patients. However, HIV-positive African American women in rural North Carolina are less likely to have access and adhere to ART and are dying at an accelerated rate compared to other populations. Description: The PRECEDE-PROCEED model is an empirically-based method for intervention formulation and evaluation. By identifying a prioritized health outcome (mortality reduction) and quality of life factor (strengthening family/social networks) for the target population, the model drives the development of an intervention to address behavioral and ecological determinants, including: access to healthcare and daily needs, physical and financial access to ART, negative stigma associated with HIV-positive status, and self-efficacy to adhere to an ART regimen. Lessons Learned: This paper outlines a multi-component intervention guiding the operation of a co-located comprehensive care clinic in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Policy lobbying is essential to financially sustaining full clinic operation. Specific suggestions are made for addressing inadequate HIV/AIDS funding formularies and federal legislation including the Ryan White Care Act and Senate Bill 311. Recommendations: Although co-located care facilities have proven successful in treating HIV/AIDS in rural and urban settings, they can require extensive coordination and a large, sustained budget. Nevertheless, the later, more debilitating stages of AIDS necessitate more expensive treatments, thereby justifying the implied policy changes in HIV/AIDS funding formularies. The benefits of implementing this intervention outweigh the costs: Currently underserved individuals in the target population would receive affordable, timely, and sustained HIV/AIDS care and treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of health disparities and treatment shortfalls affecting HIV-positive African American women.
• Examine HIV/AIDS funding formularies and recommended revisions.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.