IMPACT OF A NEW YORK CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT INITIATIVE TO EXPAND HIV PARTNER SERVICES OUTSIDE STD CLINICS

Notifying partners of HIV-infected people and referring them for testing and treatment is an effective method for identifying individuals with undiagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and offering them a range of medical and psychosocial services. Despite this evidence, HIV partner services are underused, and many localities struggle to incrementally improve their partner services. In this article, Udeagu et al describe a useful approach to increase HIV partner services' yield by targeting hospitals in neighborhoods with high rates of delayed HIV diagnoses. When resources are limited, such targeting of services using surveillance data improves cost-effectiveness and increases program impact. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]