Ryan White 2012 Grantee Meeting

Significant advances in research demonstrate that early detection and treatment of HIV not only improves health outcomes for patients but also reduces transmission rates and community viral loads – an indicator of transmission potential in a community. Similarly, the 2010 United States National HIV/AIDS Strategy calls for efforts to reduce infection rates, increase access to care, and mitigate health disparities. Ryan White grantees are well positioned to lead the tasks around early identification and treatment. This workshop presents a multi-prong approach, developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, to early identify, test, and efficiently link individuals to care with the emphasis around enhanced targeted outreach and the elimination of barriers to accessing treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• This session will describe opportunities to collaborate and enhance services for populations experiencing disproportionate impact and disparities that prevent early detection, access to care, and retention.
• Identify and adopt strategies around enhanced targeted outreach and testing along with fast tracking of linkage to care resulting in increased access and retention.
• Demonstrate that the application of early identification, enhanced testing, and fast tracking to care will reduce community viral load and disparities for populations most impacted in local jurisdictions.