Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105755

Janni J. Kinsler, PhD, MPH¹, William E. Cunningham, MD, MPH², Cynthia Davis, MPH³, Vincent Heckard, BA⁴, Typhanye Penniman, MPH¹, Maria Ueligitone³, Albert Washington³, and Mitchell Wong, MD, PhD⁴. (1) Department of General Internal Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), 911 Broxton Plaza, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90095, (2) Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Sciences, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, (3) Department of Family Medicine, King Drew Medical Center, 1621 E. 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059, (310) 763-9746, cdmom49@aol.com, (4) Med-GIM & Health Services Research, UCLA, 911 Broxton, 173617, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Issues: Many poor, minority, and underserved persons with HIV lack access to HIV care or encounter delays in accessing care. Previous studies show that there are disparities between minorities and whites in the proportion taking medication to combat HIV/AIDS. Studies also show high rates of unmet need for social and medical services, particularly among minorities with HIV. Project Description: The goal of this project is to build on an existing study (Phase I), an evaluation of access to care among person testing HIV positive by the Drew Mobile HIV Outreach Program (MoHOP). MoHOP provides HIV testing and outreach services to persons at risk for HIV infection. The focus of MoHOP is to identify previously undiagnosed HIV-infected individuals, and then get these individuals engaged into medical care. The current project (Phase II) involves the evaluation of an intervention designed to enrich the MoHOP program, by adding a dedicated case-manager to MoHOP. While the outreach workers were successful in providing HIV testing and counseling services to clients, they were not always successful in coordinating services with providers and following up with referrals. The case management intervention is designed to fulfill this need. Lessons learned: A principal limitation of the Phase I MoHOP program was the difficulty in adequately meeting the social needs of MoHOP clients and providing adequate follow-up to ensure engagement and retention in care. Recommendations: We hypothesize that the Phase II intervention will provide a more complete continuum of care including medical, mental health, and substance use treatment services.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to

• Describe an innovative approach for identifying HIV-infected individuals and providing them with HIV testing and counseling services.
• Discuss the stengths and weaknesses of implementing a mobile testing and outreach project.
• Describe an intervention that enhances the mobile testing and outreach project by adding a dedicated case manager, who will focus on coordinating services and appointments with providers and following up with referrals.

Keywords: Underserved Populations, Case Management

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.