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316452
Increasing the Accessibility of HIV Screening using Community Pharmacies - Houston, Texas


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Avatar Jones, Florida A&M University, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tallahassee, FL
BACKGROUND: Houston, Texas is significantly impacted by the HIV epidemic with a prevalence of 489 cases per 100,000 persons. Communities that suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS traditionally have less access to care. National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) expanded access to HIV screening nationwide. In 2010, a partnership between a Walgreens and local health departments brought free HIV screening to community pharmacies. 

METHODS:  Five Walgreens pharmacy locations in Houston, Texas delivered free HIV screenings administered by health workers for two days in June 2013 beginning on NHTD. Both the number of tests and positives results were recorded at each location. Additionally, the number of screenings and positives were collected in nine emergency rooms (ER), eight community based organizations (CBO), and four health department clinics. We then compared the number of tests delivered hourly at each venue during the two-day period. 

RESULTS: 9.6 tests per hour were conducted in the community pharmacy setting during two days of screening. In the traditional settings of emergency rooms and health clinics, 6.4 tests and 5.8 tests per hour were provided respectively. 4.1 tests were administered per hour in community-based organizations. One positive was recorded in CBOs and ten were found in ERs, while none were found in other testing venues.

CONCLUSIONS:  Community pharmacies, located in most neighborhoods, may serve as venues to expand access to HIV screening in areas disproportionately affected by HIV prevalence and normalize testing. Results support the ability of pharmacies to bring HIV testing closer to those at high risk via private-public partnerships.

Learning Areas:

Administration, management, leadership
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate the potential for using community pharmacies as venues for HIV testing services. Identify opportunities for innovative public-private partnerships that promote HIV detection and prevention. Assess the impact of expanding pharmacists' scope of practice to include HIV screening and counseling services. Compare the frequency of HIV testing in community pharmacies to traditional testing locations on National HIV Testing Day.

Keyword(s): Accessibility, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I completed an eight-week research program within the Centers for Disease Control's Division of HIV/AIDS prevention during which I acted as the principal investigator on a pharmacy-related HIV prevention study. My scientific interests include development of strategies that address health disparities in underserved populations such as HIV in high-risk populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

Back to: 4277.0: HIV Testing & Care