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Barriers to getting needed services for Ryan White CARE clients.
R Marx1, A Hirozawa, V Soskolne
1Epidemiology and Evaluation Section, AIDS Office, San Francisco Department of Public Health, CA 94102-6033, USA. rani_marx@dph.sf.ca.us
AIDS Care
|April 17, 2001
Summary
Many HIV-infected individuals face unmet service needs due to agency, emotional, or informational barriers. Tailored interventions are crucial for improving access to HIV care and services.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Access to care remains a challenge for many individuals living with HIV.
- Understanding barriers to service utilization is critical for effective HIV care delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify reasons for unmet service needs among HIV-infected persons.
- To explore barriers encountered by clients of Ryan White CARE-funded agencies.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 519 clients across 65 Ryan White CARE-funded sites in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties (July-September 1996).
- Analysis of unmet service needs and associated barriers, including agency, emotional, informational, and financial/practical factors.
Main Results:
- Over half (54.5%) of clients reported at least one unmet service need in the prior four months.
- Unstable living situations and lower perceived health status were linked to unmet needs.
- Agency barriers (54.0%) were most prevalent, followed by emotional (44.8%) and informational (44.0%) barriers.
- No specific client characteristics were consistently associated with particular barriers.
Conclusions:
- While the Ryan White CARE program has reduced many barriers, persistent challenges remain.
- Individualized interventions are needed to enhance service delivery, awareness, and address emotional barriers to HIV care access.