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Updated: Oct 27, 2025
Amplifying and Quantifying HIV-1 RNA in HIV Infected Individuals with Viral Loads Below the Limit of Detection by Standard Clinical Assays
Published on: September 26, 2011
Development and Validation of Vulnerable and Enabling Indices for HIV Viral Suppression among People with HIV
Merhawi T Gebrezgi1, Mary Jo Trepka1,2, Semiu O Gbadamosi1
1Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
Background:
Numerous factors impact HIV care, often requiring consideration of indices to prevent collinearity when using statistical modeling. Using the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations, we developed vulnerable and enabling indices for people living with HIV (PLWH).
Methods:
We used Ryan White Program (RWP) data and principal component analysis to develop general and gender- and racial/ethnic-specific indices. We assessed internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha), convergent validity (correlation coefficient), and predictive utility (logistic regression) with non-viral suppression.
Results:
Three general factors accounting for 79.2% of indicators' variability surfaced: mental health, drug use, and socioeconomic status (Cronbach's alpha 0.68). Among the overall RWP population, indices showed convergent validity and predictive utility. Using gender- or racial/ethnic-specific indices did not improve psychometric performance.
Discussion:
General mental health, drug use, and socioeconomic indices using administrative data showed acceptable reliability, validity, and utility for non-viral suppression in an overall PLWH population and in gender- and racial/ethnic-stratified populations. These general indices may be used with similar validity and utility across gender and racial/ethnic diverse populations.
