Utilizing Biostatistical Analysis of Case Management Data to Enhance Future Outcomes of the Youth and AIDS Projects

Abstract

In the United States, there is a great disparity between the percentages of HIV-infected youth linked to medical care (25%), the percentage of HIV-infected youth retained in care (11%) and finally those achieving viral suppression (6%). In contrast, successful case management can be associated with a higher retention rate in care and better outcomes for HIV+ clients. The purpose of this research is to provide analytical data, that when acted upon, will improve the effectiveness of the Youth and AIDS projects’ (YAP) case managers in linking and retaining HIV-infected youth to adequate health care needed to achieve positive viral suppressive outcomes. By conducting a statistical analysis using linear mixed and logistic regression models on all YAP case management clients (80) from 2014 -2017, we will determine individual client characteristics (age, sex, demographic background, mental illness, substance abuse …) that are associated with YAP’s effectiveness in linking HIV-infected youth to health care. Our first and second analysis measured success as having a viral load less than 200 and having a CD4 count less than 200 for a minimum of 12 months respectively. It is hypothesized that this retrospective data can be used to understand the effect of case management on viral load and CD4 count over time as well as the associations between client characteristics and YAP’s effectiveness in linking youth to adequate health care.