Viral Load Suppression (VLS) Statewide Collaborative

About Us
Purpose
To improve VLS rates among people living with HIV in Ohio.
We do this by:
- Bringing together professionals and community members who want to improve VLS rates
- Sharing VLS activities and projects
- Learning about best practices to improve VLS
- Discussing how to improve VLS rates
Structure
The VLS Statewide Collaborative includes:
- A webpage that contains data, projects, best practices, events, and resources
- Quarterly (4 times a year) meetings through a conference call/webinar
- A listserv for member communication
Contact us
Ohio Department of Health
Ryan White Part B Clinical Quality Management Program
hivdata@odh.ohio.gov
Data
Continuum of Care reports
Ohio HIV Surveillance Continuum of Care report
VLS among people enrolled in the Ryan White Part B/ADAP program, statewide and by region.
2018
Statewide: 2012-2018
Region 1: Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, Wood
Region 2: Ashland, Crawford, Erie, Huron, Knox, Marion, Richland, Seneca, Wyandot
Region 3: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina
Region 4: Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Summit, Trumbull
Region 5: Carroll, Coshocton, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson, Stark, Tuscarawas, Wayne
Region 6: Athens, Belmont, Guernsey, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Washington
Region 7: Adams, Fayette, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton
Region 8: Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, Warren
Region 9: Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble
Region 10: Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Hancock, Hardin, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Shelby, Van Wert
Region 11: Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway, Union
Local VLS projects
If you have a VLS project to share, submit the VLS Project Description Form.
- Submit any current or past project, no matter the size or results.
- You may choose whether you want it shared on this website, through the member listserv, or both.
- Please consider sharing a project so we all can learn.
Project spotlight
Project spotlights are projects recently shared on a VLS Statewide Collaborative webinar. This project was shared by MetroHealth on Dec. 2, 2020.
Project Name |
Positive Peers |
Objective(s)/aim(s) of the project |
Positive Peers is an mHealth app that aims to engage young people living with HIV in care and sustain viral suppression while reducing stigma and isolation and extending human connection into a virtual space. |
Focus or priority population(s) |
Youth (13-24) and young adults (25-34) living with HIV |
Method(s) |
MetroHealth created the Positive Peers app from the ground up, with continuous input and feedback from a community advisory board of young people living with HIV (YPLWH) in Cleveland. Positive Peers was initially funded as a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) project. |
Results |
YPLWH ages 13-24 who use Positive Peers are 3.2 times more likely to experience sustained viral suppression than a matched cohort of their peers living with HIV who did not use the app. These results are currently being written into a manuscript for publication. Positive Peers has already been published twice in scholarly journals: Positive Peers Mobile Application Reduces Stigma Perception Among Young People Living With HIV |
Discussion |
Positive Peers is now open for any young person, ages 13-34, who is living with HIV, owns a smartphone and lives in the United States to enroll. The virtual registration process can be completed online on the Positive Peers website. Positive Peers also has an extensive library of blogs (over 250!) on a variety of topics related (and unrelated) to HIV health and wellness. Blogs can be read by anyone with internet access. Blogs are written at a 6th grade level and feature inclusive and diverse art. Some blogs have voice-over summaries called "The Tea." Positive Peers is on all social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube & Facebook); follow us @PositivePeers4U. Positive Peers is always seeking healthcare and community-based organizations serving people living with HIV to become Key Health Partners. |
Contact person |
|
Agency/organization |
The MetroHealth System |
Current projects
Coming soon - please consider sharing a project
Past projects
Coming soon - please consider sharing a project
VLS Best Practices
- Compendium of Evidence-Based Interventions and Best Practices for HIV Prevention - HIV best practices that are evidence-based, evidence-informed, or that show good evidence
- Six interventions show evidence specific to VLS. Others list VLS as a goal. These interventions are listed below.
- Effective Interventions
If you know of an evidence-based or evidence-informed intervention for VLS that is not listed on these websites, please contact us.
Disclaimer: Links to non-ODH sites by the Ohio Department of Health is for informational purposes only. Providing a link does not constitute an endorsement of the linked site, its sponsors, the information, or products.
Interventions that are evidence-based or evidence-informed for viral suppression
CASCADE - Evidence-based
HIV Clinical Pharmacist Services - Evidence-informed
HIV Telehealth in Veterans Administration Clinics - Evidence-based
LINCS (Linkage, Integration, Navigation, and Comprehensive Services ) - Evidence-informed
LINK LA (Linking Inmates to Care in Los Angeles) - Evidence-based
RAPID (Rapid ART Program for Individuals with an HIV Diagnosis) - Evidence-informed
STREAM (Simplifying HIV TREAtment and Monitoring) - Evidence-based
The MAX Clinic: A Walk-in, Incentivized HIV Care Model - Evidence-based
weCare - Evidence-informed
Interventions that list improved viral suppression as a goal
Adapted Holistic Health Recovery Program (HHRP-A)
Adherence Improving Self-Management Strategy (AIMS)
Clinical Pharmacy Resident Intervention
Community Health Worker Integration Program
CrescentCare Start Initiative (CCSI)
Directly Administered Antiretroviral Therapy (DAART) for Drug Users
Directly Administered Antiretroviral Therapy (DAART) in a Methadone Clinic
Enhanced Housing Placement Assistance (EHPA)
Financial Incentives for Viral Suppression
Health Models: Pay-for-Performance Program
Helping Enhance Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (Project HEART)
HIV Care Coordination Program (CCP)
Navigation-Enhanced Case Management (NAV)
Patient-Centered HIV Care Model
Phone-Delivered Support Counseling for HIV Treatment Adherence
Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative at Adult Special Care Clinics (ASCC)
Systems Navigation and Psychosocial Counseling (SNaP) (HPTN 074)
Interventions recently or currently being studied
Events
Below are the dates and times.
By participating, you will:
- Learn what is happening in Ohio around VLS
- Come up with new ideas
- Ask questions about projects
- Get feedback on your projects
Call schedule
To be determined
For call-in information, please contact us.
Call notes
If you want the notes to a call/webinar, please contact us.
Join
Anyone interested in VLS can join for free. Click here to fill out a membership form.
Once you join, you will begin to receive information about meetings. You will also be on a listserv for member communications.