Outcomes of the KC life 360 intervention: Improving employment and housing for persons living with HIV

Abstract

Housing and employment are key factors in the health and wellbeing of persons living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States. Approximately 14% of low-income PLWH report housing instability or temporary housing, and up to 70% report being unemployed. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of an intervention to improve housing and employment for PLWH in the Midwest. Participants (N = 87) were recruited from the Kansas City metropolitan area to participate in a one-year intervention to improve housing and employment. All individuals were living with HIV and were not stably housed, fully employed, nor fully engaged in HIV medical care. A series of generalized estimating equations were conducted using client-level longitudinal data to examine how housing, employment, viral load, and retention in care changed over time. Housing improved from baseline to follow-up, with more individuals reporting having stable housing (OR = 23.5; p < 0.001). Employment also improved from baseline to follow-up, with more individuals reporting full-time employment (OR = 1.9; p < 0.001). Viral suppression improved from baseline to follow-up, with more individuals being virally suppressed (OR = 1.6; p < 0.05). Retention in care did not change significantly from baseline to follow-up (OR = 0.820; p = 0.370). Client navigation seems to be a promising intervention to improve housing and employment for PLWH in the Midwest. Additional research is needed on the impact of service coordination on client-level outcomes. Future studies should be conducted on the scalability of client navigation interventions to improve the lives of low-income, underserved PLWH.

“It Comes in Steps and Stages”: Experiences of People Living with HIV in Achieving Employment

“…One evaluation study of a housing and employment navigator model for families experiencing homelessness in three regions in Washington found a 7% higher rate of employment among participants who worked with a navigator specifically trained to support employment readiness, job skills and career resources [ 8 ]. Among people living with HIV, similar studies in Kansas City and New York found significant improvements in securing fulltime employment over time [ 9 , 10 ]. In these studies, a dedicated navigator/service coordinator proved effective in assessing employment skills, developing an individual employment plan with targeted goals, supporting employment readiness connection to job resources and educational training for clients.…”

“…In these studies, a dedicated navigator/service coordinator proved effective in assessing employment skills, developing an individual employment plan with targeted goals, supporting employment readiness connection to job resources and educational training for clients. Navigators/coordinators also played important roles in communicating across various agencies to support a person experiencing unstable housing such as obtaining IDs, social security cards, and access to transportation [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”