Substance Abuse Treatment, HIV/AIDS, and the Continuum of Response for People Who Inject Drugs

Abstract

The continuum of response (CoR) to HIV/AIDS is a framework for implementation of HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs based on a national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS services. The CoR for people who inject drugs (PWID) is an important extension of the developed CoR to HIV/AIDS. The CoR-PWID employs stakeholders who together plan, develop, pilot, and provide a full range of services that address the various prevention, care/support, and treatment needs of people, families, and communities infected or affected by HIV/AIDS and injection drug use. The CoR-PWID comprises a broad range of services that include but are not limited to the World Health Organization priority interventions for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care in the health sector and the package of essential interventions for the prevention, treatment, and care of HIV for people who inject drugs. Implementation of these well-defined, essential prevention, care/support, and treatment services, in addition to locally defined needed services, in a coordinated fashion is important to clients, their families, and communities. The CoR-PWID is, therefore, a necessary framework essential for service development for countries that address HIV/AIDS in populations of PWID.

Factors responsible for incomplete linkage to care after HIV diagnosis: preliminary results from the Test and Keep in Care (TAK) project

“…Active substance abuse, marginalized housing and low socioeconomic status have been postulated to be important factors decreasing linkage to professional health care . However, our findings show that the proportion of those lost to care is high even among persons with stable social status and high education who predominantly acquired HIV through sexual contact.…”

The Clients’ Voice: Satisfaction with HIV/AIDS Care in a Public and Private Health Facility in Kabale District, Uganda

“…To our knowledge, no published literature is readily available about studies assessing client satisfaction should be done consistently and indefinitely. Ensuring an adequate and continuous drug supply is a key element for preventing and managing HIV drug resistance [23]. Similarly, ARVs are a life-long treatment and not adhering to the dose as required results in drug resistance.…”

The Linkage of Illicit Drug Use / Alcohol Use and HIV Infection in Young Adults

“…Focusing on substance abusing young adults, three additional challenges can be identified:(a) transitioning from adolescent care to adult care for those individuals who are living with HIV prior to reaching young adulthood and who were in care, (b) accessing HIV care and treatment from HIV testing with the dual comorbidities of AUDs and HIV infection and (c) out-of-care young adults disengaged from medical care. For all of these challenges, providing a young adult friendly venue that integrates comprehensive services for substance abuse and HIV care and treatment provides the optimal opportunity for engagement and retention in care with good clinical outcomes (84).…”