Widespread closure of HIV prevention and care services places youth at higher risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Central to measuring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV is understanding the role of loss of access to essential HIV prevention and care services created by clinic and community-based organization closures. In this paper, we use a comprehensive list of HIV prevention services in four corridors of the US heavily impacted by HIV, developed as part of a large RCT, to illustrate the potential impact of service closure on LGBTQ+ youth.

Methods

We identified and mapped LGBTQ+ friendly services offering at least one of the following HIV-related services: HIV testing; STI testing; PrEP/PEP; HIV treatment and care; and other HIV-related services in 109 counties across four major interstate corridors heavily affected by HIV US Census regions: Pacific (San Francisco,

SUBMITTER: Stephenson R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8432816 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature