Background
Delay in diagnosing HIV infection leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Universal screening will improve outcomes but those at highest risk are still less likely to be tested. Social networks testing can improve identification of HIV positive patients and deserves further study. Targeted strategies such as social networks testing (SNT) will increase numbers of high-risk persons tested for HIV compared to standard testing and may prove to be a more cost effective approach. The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW), the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Center for Urban Population Health with resources from the Center for Disease Control and the State of Wisconsin’s HIV Program aim to operationalize the SNT strategy and demonstrate its effectiveness in identifying persons with undiagnosed HIV/HCV.
Goal
Increase the identification of persons with undiagnosed HIV and HCV infection within various networks and link them to appropriate medical care and prevention services.
Population Served
Social Network Testing Program is open to all HIV positive clients who meet the enlistment criteria.
Activities
Program participants will be recruited from ARCW’s Health, Social and Prevention Service departments. Specific attention will be given to Men of Color who have Sex with Men (MCSM) and Men who have Sex with Men and are Injection Drug Users (MSM/IDU) based on their previously demonstrated success rate at recruiting within their networks.
Timeline
June 30, 2007 to June 30, 2008
Funding Source
- Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program
- AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin
Key Partners
AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin
- John Fangman, M.D., Medical Director for ARCW, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Scott Stokes, Prevention Services Director
Center for AIDS Intervention Research
- David Seal, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Wisconsin
Center for Urban Population Health
- David Frazer, M.P.H., Coordinator of Community-Based Initiatives
