Retention in Care within 1 Year of Initial HIV Care Visit in a Multisite US Cohort: Who’s In and Who’s Out?

• Published in: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care 2014-05, Vol.13 (3), p.232-241
• Main Authors: Tedaldi, Ellen M., Richardson, James T., Debes, Rachel, Young, Benjamin, Chmiel, Joan S., Durham, Marcus D., Brooks, John T., Buchacz, Kate
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Continental Population Groups - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Humans; Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Patient Compliance; Prospective Studies; United States
• ISSN: 2325-9574; 2325-9582; 2325-9582
• DOI: 10.1177/2325957413514631

Biannual attendance at medical visits is an established measure of retention in HIV care. We examined factors associated with attending at least 2 clinic visits at least 90 days apart among HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive HIV Outpatient Study participants entering care during 2000 to 2011. Of 1441 patients, 85% were retained in care during the first year of observation. Starting ART during the year was the strongest correlate of retention (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 6.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.4-9.4). After adjusting for starting ART, publicly insured patients (aOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0), and patients with baseline CD4 counts