OBJECTIVE:HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is efficacious, but uptake has been slow. In Washington State, most insurance plans, including Medicaid, pay for PrEP, and the state supports a PrEP drug ...assistance program. We assessed trends in PrEP awareness and use among MSM in Washington.
DESIGN AND SETTING:Serial cross-sectional survey conducted annually at the Seattle Pride Parade between 2009 and 2015.
METHODS:In a convenience sample of MSM who reside in Washington State and deny ever testing HIV positive (n = 2168), we evaluated the association between calendar year and self-report of PrEP uptake and awareness using descriptive statistics and multivariable relative risk and logistic regression. Regression models included HIV risk and demographic covariates.
RESULTS:In 2015, 23% 95% confidence interval (CI)16%, 31% of high-risk MSM reported currently taking PrEP. The percentage of high-risk MSM who reported ever taking PrEP increased from 5% in 2012 to 31% in 2015. PrEP use among lower-risk MSM was low and stable, between 1 and 3% in 2012–2015. In multivariable analyses, PrEP use was associated with later calendar years (2015 vs. 2012adjusted relative risk = 2.29, 95% CI1.16, 4.52) and elevated HIV risk (adjusted relative risk = 2.92, 95% CI2.00, 4.25). The percentage of high and lower-risk MSM who had heard of PrEP increased from 13 to 86% and from 29 to 58%, respectively.
CONCLUSION:PrEP awareness is high and the use has rapidly increased over the last year among MSM in Seattle, Washington, USA. These findings demonstrate that high levels of PrEP use can be achieved among MSM at high-risk for HIV infection.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies respond to hundreds of thousands of acute overdose events each year. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of EMS patients who survived a prior opioid ...overdose in 2019-2021 in King County, Washington.
A novel record linkage algorithm was applied to EMS electronic health records and the state vital statistics registry to identify repeat overdoses and deaths that occurred up to 3 years following the index opioid overdose. We measured overdose incidence rates and applied survival analysis techniques to assess all-cause and overdose-specific mortality risks.
In the year following the index opioid overdose, the overdose (fatal or non-fatal) incidence rate was 23.3 per 100 person-year, overdose mortality rate was 2.7 per 100 person-year, and all-cause mortality rate was 5.2 per 100 person-year in this cohort of overdose survivors (n=4234). Overdose incidence was highest in the first 30 days following the index overdose (43 opioid overdoses and 4 fatal overdoses per 1000 person-months), declined precipitously, and then plateaued from the third month onwards (10-15 opioid overdoses and 1-2 fatal overdoses per 1000 person-months). Overdose incidence rates, measured at 30 days, were highest among overdose survivors who were young, male, and experienced a low severity index opioid overdose, but these differences diminished when measured at 12 months.
Among EMS patients who survived an opioid overdose, the risk of subsequent overdose is high, especially in the weeks following the index opioid overdose. Non-fatal overdose may represent a pivotal time to connect patients with harm-reduction, treatment, and other support services.
Stigma has long accompanied sexually transmissible infections (STI) and hindered prevention and control efforts. It not only acts as a formidable barrier to STI testing, treatment and disclosure, but ...has a multitude of consequences for the health and quality of life of infected individuals. This review summarises the literature related to STI stigma and offers practical approaches to counter STI-associated stigma through multi-level efforts. Specifically, it describes the key sources that breed and perpetuate stigma, outlines how STI-associated stigma has been conceptualised and measured in the literature, documents the impact of stigma on infected and uninfected individuals, and summarises the stigma reduction strategies recommended in the literature. Gaps in the literature are identified and areas for further research are suggested, along with practical strategies for moving forward.
Highlights ► In this study we examine intent to get HPV vaccine among unvaccinated 15–24 year old women. ► A majority (57.5%) of respondents were unlikely to receive HPV vaccination in the next 12 ...months. ► Among those unlikely to get HPV vaccine, we report the main reason for not getting vaccinated. ► Not being at risk and institutional barriers were the most common reasons for forgoing HPV vaccine. ► Sexually experienced women were more likely than sexually inexperienced ones to want HPV vaccine.
Abstract The quadrivalent human papillomavirus virus vaccine was recently licensed for use in males in the United States. This study reviews available published literature on acceptability among ...parents, health care providers, and young males. Among 23 published articles, half were conducted in the United States. The majority (87%) used quantitative survey methodology, and 13% used more explorative qualitative techniques. Convenience samples were used in most cases (74%) and 26% relied on nationally representative samples. Acceptability of a human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccine that protects against cervical cancer and genital warts was high in studies conducted among male college students (74%–78%) but lower in a community sample of males (33%). Among mothers of sons, support of HPV vaccination varied widely from 12% to 100%, depending on the mother's ethnicity and type of vaccine, but was generally high for a vaccine that would protect against both genital warts and cervical cancer. Health providers' intention to recommend HPV vaccine to male patients varied by patient age but was high (82%–92%) for older adolescent patients. A preference to vaccinate females over males was reported in a majority of studies among parents and health care providers. Messages about cervical cancer prevention for female partners did not resonate among adult males or parents. Future acceptability studies might incorporate more recent data on HPV-related disease, HPV vaccines, and cost-effectiveness data to provide more current information on vaccine acceptability.
BACKGROUNDMany state and local health departments now promote and support the use of HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), yet monitoring use of the intervention at the population level remains ...challenging.
METHODSWe report the results of an online survey designed to measure PrEP use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Washington State. Data on the proportion of men with indications for PrEP based on state guidelines and levels of awareness, interest, and use of PrEP are presented for 1080 cisgender male respondents who completed the survey between January 1 and February 28, 2017. We conducted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with current PrEP use. To examine patterns of discontinuation, we conducted Cox proportional hazards regression and fit a Kaplan-Meier curve to reported data on time on PrEP.
RESULTSEighty percent of respondents had heard of PrEP, 19% reported current use, and 36% of men who had never used PrEP wanted to start taking it. Among MSM for whom state guidelines recommend PrEP, 31% were taking it. In multivariable analysis, current PrEP use was associated with older age, higher education, and meeting indications for PrEP use. Our data suggest that 20% of PrEP users discontinue within 12 months, and men with lower educational attainment were more likely to discontinue.
CONCLUSIONSDespite high levels of use, there is significant unmet need for PrEP in Washington. Our experience indicates that Internet surveys are feasible and informative for monitoring PrEP use in MSM.
Despite the massive scale of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) programs operating worldwide, the evidence supporting the intervention's public health impact is limited.
To ...evaluate the Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) CI/CT program, including its reach, timeliness, effect on isolation and quarantine (I&Q) adherence, and potential to mitigate pandemic-related hardships.
This program evaluation used descriptive statistics to analyze surveillance records, case and contact interviews, referral records, and survey data provided by a sample of cases who had recently ended isolation.
The PHSKC is one of the largest governmental local health departments in the United States. It serves more than 2.2 million people who reside in Seattle and 38 other municipalities.
King County residents who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between July 2020 and June 2021.
The PHSKC integrated COVID-19 CI/CT with prevention education and service provision.
The PHSKC CI/CT team interviewed 42 900 cases (82% of cases eligible for CI/CT), a mean of 6.1 days after symptom onset and 3.4 days after SARS-CoV-2 testing. Cases disclosed the names and addresses of 10 817 unique worksites (mean = 0.8/interview) and 11 432 other recently visited locations (mean = 0.5/interview) and provided contact information for 62 987 household members (mean = 2.7/interview) and 14 398 nonhousehold contacts (mean = 0.3/interview). The CI/CT team helped arrange COVID-19 testing for 5650 contacts, facilitated grocery delivery for 7253 households, and referred 9127 households for financial assistance. End of I&Q Survey participants (n = 304, 54% of sampled) reported self-notifying an average of 4 nonhousehold contacts and 69% agreed that the information and referrals provided by the CI/CT team helped them stay in isolation.
In the 12-month evaluation period, CI/CT reached 42 611 households and identified thousands of exposure venues. The timing of CI/CT relative to infectiousness and difficulty eliciting nonhousehold contacts may have attenuated the intervention's effect. Through promotion of I&Q guidance and services, CI/CT can help mitigate pandemic-related hardships.
To assess how integration of HIV surveillance and field services might influence surveillance data and linkage to care metrics.
We used HIV surveillance and field services data from King County, ...Washington, to assess potential impact of misclassification of prior diagnoses on numbers of new diagnoses. The relationship between partner services and linkage to care was evaluated with multivariable log-binomial regression models.
Of the 2842 people who entered the King County HIV Surveillance System in 2010 to 2015, 52% were newly diagnosed, 41% had a confirmed prior diagnosis in another state, and 7% had an unconfirmed prior diagnosis. Twelve percent of those classified as newly diagnosed for purposes of national HIV surveillance self-reported a prior HIV diagnosis that was unconfirmed. Partner services recipients were more likely than nonrecipients to link to care within 30 days (adjusted risk ratio RR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval CI = 1.03, 1.18) and 90 days (adjusted RR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.14) of diagnosis.
Integration of HIV surveillance, partner services, and care linkage efforts may improve the accuracy of HIV surveillance data and facilitate timely linkage to care.
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The transformation of HIV from a fatal disease to lifelong disease has resulted in an HIV-infected population that is growing and aging, placing new and increasing demands on public programs and ...health services. We used National HIV Surveillance System and US census data to project the demographic composition of the population of people living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH) in the United States through 2045. The input parameters for the projections include: (1) census projections, (2) number of people with an existing HIV diagnosis in 2013, (3) number of new HIV diagnoses in 2013, and (4) death rate within the PLWDH population in 2013. Sex-, risk group-, and race-specific projections were estimated through an adapted Leslie Matrix Model for age-structured populations. Projections for 2013-2045 suggest that the number of PLWDH in the U.S. will consistently grow, from 917,294 to 1,232,054, though the annual growth rate will slow from 1.8% to 0.8%. The number of PLWDH aged 55 years and older will increase from 232,113 to 470,221. The number of non-Hispanic (NH) African Americans/Blacks and Hispanics is projected to consistently grow, shifting the racial/ethnic composition of the US PLWDH population from 32 to 23% NH-White, 42 to 38% NH-Black, and 20-32% Hispanic between 2013 and 2045. Given current trends, the composition of the PLWDH population is projected to change considerably. Public health practitioners should anticipate large shifts in the age and racial/ethnic structure of the PLWDH population in the United States.
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