Delivering HIV Services to Vulnerable Populations: An Evaluation and Research Agenda

• Published in: Public health reports (1974) 2002-03, Vol.117 (2), p.114-122
• Main Authors: Martha M. Mc Kinney, Marconi, Katherine M., Cleary, Paul D., Jennifer Kates, Young, Steven R., Joseph F. O'Neill
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Behavioral Research; Biological and medical sciences; Care and treatment; Consensus Development Conferences as Topic; Continuity of Patient Care; Delivery of Health Care; Guidelines as Topic; Health care administration; Health care delivery; Health care policy; Health outcomes; Health policy; Health Priorities; Health Services Accessibility; Health Services Research; HIV; HIV Infections - economics; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - therapy; HIV positive persons; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Managed care; Medicaid; Medical research; Medical sciences; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Practice; Prevention; Prevention and actions; Primary health care; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Research studies; Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...); United States; United States Health Resources and Services Administration; Vulnerable Populations - psychology
• ISSN: 0033-3549; 1468-2877
• DOI: 10.1016/S0033-3549(04)50117-6

In May 2000, the HIV/AIDS Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration convened HIV experts from throughout the country to identify new and emerging areas of research needed to guide policy and programmatic decisions on HIV service delivery to vulnerable populations. This article describes the process used to develop an evaluation/research agenda, discusses key findings and recommendations of the conference, and proposes a set of principles to guide the design and conduct of future investigations. Conference participants identified nine major evaluation/research themes that span the continuum of HIV behavioral prevention services and treatment. They recommended focusing future research on questions relevant to populations experiencing rapid rates of increase in HIV infection (for example, women, people of color, and adolescents and young adults) and considering explanatory factors at multiple levels of analysis (individual, clinician, organization, service delivery system, and environment).