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”: Function and Content Development of a Mobile App for Engaging and Retaining Young Adults in HIV Care 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	Jen McMillen Smith
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.