Social Determinants of Health and Unmet Needs for Services among Young Adults with HIV: Medical Monitoring Project, 2018-2021.

Abstract

Background: Persons aged 13-24 years are a priority population in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Young adults with HIV have poorer health outcomes-including not being retained in care, antiretroviral nonadherence, and not being virally suppressed-than other persons with HIV.

Setting: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Medical Monitoring Project data collected June 2018 through May 2022.

Methods: We compared demographic characteristics, social determinants of health (SDOH), and mental health between persons aged 18-24 years with HIV versus persons aged ≥25 years with HIV. Among those aged 18-24 years, we analyzed total and unmet needs for ancillary services, defined as those that support care engagement, viral suppression, and overall health and well-being among people with HIV.

Results: Persons aged 18-24 years were more likely to have a household income <100% of the federal poverty level (48% vs. 39%), and experience unstable housing or homelessness (37% vs. 18%) or hunger/food insecurity (29% vs. 18%) than those aged ≥25 years. Persons aged 18-24 years had higher median HIV stigma scores (40 vs. 29) and were more likely to experience symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (21% vs. 15%) than those aged ≥25 years. Of persons aged 18-24 years, 96% had a need for ≥1 ancillary service, of whom 56% had ≥1 unmet need; unmet needs were highest for subsistence services (53%) and non-HIV medical services (41%).

Conclusions: Addressing unmet needs for subsistence and non-HIV medical services could help reduce disparities in SDOH and mental health that drive inequities in health outcomes among persons with HIV aged 18-24 years.