Open AccessMeasuring Unmet Needs among Persons Living with HIV at Different Stages of the Care Continuum
Author(s) -
Thurka Sangaramoorthy,
Meredith Haddix,
Anya Agopian,
Hannah Yellin,
Farah Mouhanna,
Hibo Abdi,
Kerri Dorsey,
James A. Peterson,
Michael Kharfen,
Amanda D. Castel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aids and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.994
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1573-3254
pISSN - 1090-7165
DOI - 10.1007/s10461-020-03125-4
Subject(s) - health psychology , qualitative research , public health , health care , continuum of care , needs assessment , medicine , gerontology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , nursing , environmental health , psychology , family medicine , sociology , economic growth , social science , economics
Unmet needs can impede optimal care engagement, impacting the health and well-being of people living with HIV (PLWH); yet, whether unmet needs differ by care engagement status is not well understood. Using surveys and qualitative interviews, we examined and compared unmet needs for PLWH (n = 172) at different levels of care engagement. Unmet needs varied only slightly by care status. Survey findings revealed that provision of housing, emergency financial assistance, employment assistance, and food security were the greatest unmet need; for those in care, housing was the greatest unmet need, whereas for those sporadically in care or out of care, employment assistance was the greatest unmet needs. Qualitative interviews likewise illustrated that a lack of financial resources including insurance, housing, employment, and transportation presented barriers to care engagement across all care groups. Our findings indicate that unmet needs among PLWH are complex and multi-faceted across care engagement status.