Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV Healthcare Service Engagement, Treatment Adherence, and Viral Suppression in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review

Socio-Structural Factors and HIV Care Engagement among People Living with HIV during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study in the United States

“…The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated these concerns [ 16 , 17 , 18 ] and have resulted in healthcare disruptions for PLH [ 19 ]. Research during the first twelve months of the pandemic identified impacts on finances [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], food insecurity [ 21 , 23 ], and access to healthcare services [ 20 , 22 , 23 ] among PLH.…”

“…The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre-existing health inequities among PLH has the potential to have long-lasting effects on individual and public health [ 24 ]. While there is a growing body of research examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV care [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], the majority of work was performed during the early months of the pandemic. To date, there is a lack of research capturing the continued influence of the pandemic on various socio-structural factors that have historically hindered care engagement for PLH.…”

Dolutegravir Plus 3TC in Virologically Suppressed PLWHIV: Immunological Outcomes in a Multicenter Retrospective Cohort in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Furthermore, this issue probably makes this cohort a completely differential one, as the circumstances in which this dual strategy has been evaluated, with patients having problems accessing their medication or physicians, were unprecedented. These facts have been well described previously [ 20 ], underlining how COVID-19 pushed many healthcare systems to their limits in many unpredictable ways, negatively impacting many aspects of patient’s life, including, of course, PLWHIV [ 21 , 22 ]. Thus, the impressive performance of DTG+3TC in very harsh times adds invaluable information to more regular, structured, and controlled data provided by randomized clinical trials and real-life cohorts.…”

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation and Care Delivery for People With Newly Diagnosed HIV in an Integrated Healthcare System

“…Rapid ART has been recommended by national guidelines based on studies demonstrating increased ART uptake, higher engagement in care, and faster time to viral suppression [ 11 ]. Given the varying impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems, strengthening the HIV care continuum at initial HIV diagnosis with disclosure and ART initiation will be critical to the health of people with new HIV and efforts to end the HIV epidemic [ 9 , 12 ]. Our study contributes to the literature on rapid ART and COVID-19 pandemic by suggesting an integrated healthcare model or access to telemedicine services may help overcome barriers to initial HIV care and provision of ART.…”

“…Similar findings have been noted across the United States and international sites as well as in integrated health systems [ 5–8 ]. In a recent systematic review, there were varying impacts of the pandemic on HIV care retention, adherence, and viral suppression rates for persons enrolled in HIV care [ 9 ]. None of these studies, however, have studied initial HIV care or rapid ART initiation for patients with newly diagnosed HIV.…”