Exploring changes in interagency collaboration following Positive Charge, a five site HIV linkage and retention in care program

Background: Out-of-care people living with HIV (PLWH) are often marginalized and have many unmet basic needs. This population is often served by a network of loosely connected agencies, such as HIV primary care providers and AIDS Service Organizations. Prior research suggests that increasing coordination among these agencies may lead to higher quality, better coordinated care for PLWH. This study examines interagency collaboration in four U.S. geographies in the context of an HIV linkage and retention in care program, called Positive Charge (PC). PC was a program of AIDS United, a non-profit focused on ending AIDS in the United States. This study explores the networks of agencies receiving grants in these four locations, which included a lead agency and collaborators.

Methods: An administrator and service provider at each agency completed an online survey about interagency collaboration prior to and during PC. Density and centralization were calculated for each network for “any collaboration” as well as “specific” collaboration types: providing technical assistance, sharing resources, exchanging information, and referring clients.

Results: Density increased in all networks. Centralization decreased in two networks and remained constant in the others. Exchanging information and referring clients were the most common forms of collaboration.

Conclusions: This study suggests that a targeted initiative to increase linkage to care may also increase collaboration among organizations serving PLWH and provides insights to policy makers about how such a network may evolve. Future research directions include factors that promote sustainability of interorganizational collaboration.