Improving HIV Care Continuum Outcomes Among Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Through Critical Time Legal Interventions
University of Central Florida
Summary
The purpose of this research is to better understand the impact of receiving legal aid on HIV care continuum outcomes among formerly incarcerated individuals. In addition, the investigators would like to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive training for providers in increasing knowledge about medical legal partnerships and improving clinic level outcomes, including communication among providers. The training includes several topics including health disparities impacting formerly incarcerated individuals, health-harming legal needs and risks, screening for health-harming legal needs and risks, medical-legal partnership structure and operations, prerequisites for MLPs, embedding legal expertise within regularized case management, co-location of legal services, and data collection and analysis.
Description
Formerly incarcerated individuals are impacted by health-harming legal needs and risks, including lack of access to HIV care, unsafe housing safety, unstable employment, and other issues that often disrupt HIV care. Providing access to legal services can address barriers to HIV care and improve HIV care continuum outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals. The proposed study, led by the University of Central Florida (Hispanic Serving Institution), together with the University of Miami, and Hope and Help Inc., aims to pilot test a comprehensive critical-time intervention medical legal partn…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–100 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * 18 years or older * Living with HIV (as confirmed by medical record) * HIV viral load of more than 200 copies/mL (as confirmed by medical record) * Report history of incarceration * Willing and able to consent to participate in the trial (including accessing their medical records at the health care organization) * No intent to relocate within the 6 months following their enrollment in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals who self-report having been sentenced to serve under state or federal custody, with a sentence to begin within 6 months from proposed enrollme…
Interventions
- OtherOrganizational Partnerships
Component 1 is a comprehensive training for all MLP care providers delivered to clinical, social and behavioral, and legal staff to establish a collaborative environment. Component 2 consists of the screening tool and screening protocol that is designed to identify health-harming legal needs and risks of formerly incarcerated individuals living with HIV. Component 3 includes the provision of legal support.
- OtherHIV Continuum Care
Participants will be included in the pilot trial. The investigative team will work with the staff at Hope and Help Inc. to identify and recruit those out of care through reviewing electronic medical records.
Location
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, Florida