1
/
of
1
1001 Property Solutions LLC
Social Networks Testing: A Community-Based Strategy for Identifying Persons with Undiagnosed HIV Infection
Social Networks Testing: A Community-Based Strategy for Identifying Persons with Undiagnosed HIV Infection
Regular price
$2.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$2.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
An estimated 40,000 persons in the United States become infected with HIV every year (1). Of the one million persons living with HIV in the United States, approximately 250,000 are not aware of their infection and their risk for transmitting HIV to others. Of those who are unaware, many are diagnosed late in the course of their infection, after a prolonged asymptomatic period during which further transmission may have occurred. Persons who are diagnosed late in their infection miss a valuable opportunity to start HIV care and are at greater
risk for AIDS-related complications (than those diagnosed earlier). Therefore, it is a national priority to identify HIV-infected persons and link them to medical, prevention, and other services as soon as possible after they become infected.
CDC currently funds health departments and community-based organizations (CBOs) to conduct HIV counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) in a variety of settings. These publicly funded sites, which perform approximately two million HIV tests yearly, account for approximately 30 percent of positive tests in the US (2). The prevalence of positive tests in these sites is highly variable, but is often very low (less than 1%), suggesting a need for more efficient targeting strategies that will reach persons not being reached with current strategies.
One strategy for reaching and providing HIV CTR to persons with undiagnosed HIV infection is the use of social networks. Enlisting HIV-positive or high-risk HIV-negative persons (i.e., recruiters) to encourage people in their network (i.e., network associates) to be tested for HIV may provide an efficient and effective route to accessing individuals who are infected, or at very high risk for becoming infected, with HIV and linking them to services [originally developed by Jordan and colleagues (3)]. The social network approach has proven to be a viable
recruitment strategy for reaching people beyond current partners.
This guide is intended to provide an overall description of a social networks strategy to identify persons for HIV CTR and, also, to guide the development of protocols, policies, and procedures for agency’s planning to use this strategy. Lessons learned from the field (from sites funded for CDC’s Social Networks Demonstration Program) are highlighted throughout this document so that future program managers can learn from past social network experiences.
risk for AIDS-related complications (than those diagnosed earlier). Therefore, it is a national priority to identify HIV-infected persons and link them to medical, prevention, and other services as soon as possible after they become infected.
CDC currently funds health departments and community-based organizations (CBOs) to conduct HIV counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) in a variety of settings. These publicly funded sites, which perform approximately two million HIV tests yearly, account for approximately 30 percent of positive tests in the US (2). The prevalence of positive tests in these sites is highly variable, but is often very low (less than 1%), suggesting a need for more efficient targeting strategies that will reach persons not being reached with current strategies.
One strategy for reaching and providing HIV CTR to persons with undiagnosed HIV infection is the use of social networks. Enlisting HIV-positive or high-risk HIV-negative persons (i.e., recruiters) to encourage people in their network (i.e., network associates) to be tested for HIV may provide an efficient and effective route to accessing individuals who are infected, or at very high risk for becoming infected, with HIV and linking them to services [originally developed by Jordan and colleagues (3)]. The social network approach has proven to be a viable
recruitment strategy for reaching people beyond current partners.
This guide is intended to provide an overall description of a social networks strategy to identify persons for HIV CTR and, also, to guide the development of protocols, policies, and procedures for agency’s planning to use this strategy. Lessons learned from the field (from sites funded for CDC’s Social Networks Demonstration Program) are highlighted throughout this document so that future program managers can learn from past social network experiences.
Share
