HIV Treatment

The study team will pilot rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation as part of routine inpatient care at the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM), comparing outcomes over a 12-month implementation period. Electronic medical record (EMR) data will be used to evaluate clinical outcomes such as ART initiation within 24-48 hours, linkage to HIV care, retention, and viral suppression, as well as demographic and clinical factors associated with these outcomes. Implementation outcomes will be assessed using Proctor's framework, including acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and appropriateness.

Consistent use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential for achieving suppression among people with HIV (PWH). Yet despite improvements in access to ART and improving viral suppression rates, an estimated one-third of PWH globally do not take ART as prescribed, thus allowing the virus to remain detectable and transmissible. This study tests whether a low-cost visual education tool, B-OK bottles, improves understanding of HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the concept of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) among adults in Gauteng, South Africa using a randomized trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) standard-of-care verbal information based on Department of Health guidelines, (2) information delivered in person using B-OK bottles, or (3) information delivered via a video demonstrating the B-OK bottles. The study will compare the two intervention formats to standard care, and to each other, to assess whether the tool improves knowledge, attitudes, and intentions related to HIV treatment and prevention, and whether the intervention results depend on delivery mode (in-person vs. video). Outcomes will be measured at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at six-week follow-up.

The purpose of this study is to adapt and evaluate a combination intervention that includes: (1) a data-driven approach to directed community-based HIV testing to areas with high need, (2) Project Connect to expedite linkage to care at time of diagnosis, (3) and a Rapid ART (antiretroviral therapy)Start program, all in Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) jurisdictions in Alabama.

The goal of this observational study is to establish an operational framework for home self-collections of blood samples to be used for antiviral drug concentration measurements. Participants will continue on their prescribed antiviral(s) for HIV treatment or prevention and followed for up to approximately 1 year. The investigators will compare drug concentrations of antivirals and relevant metabolites/anabolites in clinic-collected and self-collected blood samples.