Impact of a Multidisciplinary Healthcare Program on Healthcare Engagement of Young Adults Living with HIV

Young adults (YA) living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience significant challenges with healthcare engagement. This population experiences lower rates of retention in care compared to their adult counterparts, resulting in poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy, higher viral load, and lower CD4 counts that negatively impact their health. This study explored how involvement in a multidisciplinary healthcare program, the HIV Adolescent Provider and Peer Education Network for Services (HAPPENS) program, impacts healthcare engagement, and identified facilitators and barriers to retention of care from the perspectives of YA living with HIV.

Participants were recruited from the HAPPENS program embedded within an adolescent/young adult medicine clinical practice affiliated with an urban, tertiary care, academic free-standing children’s hospital. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 YA living with HIV aged 21-32 years (65% Black, average age 25.8 years). Interview questions queried facilitators and barriers to care and recommendations for improving this multidisciplinary care model.

Overall, participants reported positive experiences with the HAPPENS program, emphasizing how resources being linked to care motivated them to consistently attend medical appointments. Most participants commented on how mental health challenges were a barrier to consistently engaging in care. Some recommendations emerged, including creating an open access care model in terms of scheduling and being aware of and avoiding paternalistic care.

Participants’ narratives highlight the value of integrated, multidisciplinary care in supporting retention and re-engagement in HIV care—an ongoing challenge for YA living with HIV.

Multidisciplinary healthcare programs that focus on YA living with HIV can help improve healthcare engagement and retention for this vulnerable population.