Informing Targeted Interventions to Optimize the Cascade of HIV Care Using Cluster Analyses of Health Resource Use Among People Living with HIV/AIDS

Increased awareness of the secondary preventive benefits of antiretroviral treatment (ART) has strengthened the desire to optimize health care systems’ response to HIV/AIDS. We identified clusters of health resource utilization (HRU) among people living with HIV (PLHIV) to inform targeted interventions aimed to optimize the cascade of HIV care. Using linked population-level health databases in British Columbia, Canada, we selected two analytic samples of PLHIV with 3 years of follow-up between 2006–2011 that were classified as intermittently retained in care or intermittently engaged in ART, and executed a probabilistic model-based clustering analysis for each sample with 5 and 9 quarterly HRU variables, respectively. We found clear HRU profile differences among both samples with similar HIV-related care: one featured active involvement in non-HIV care, the other little or no health care interaction following linkage to care. Differential reengagement intervention strategies capitalizing on missed opportunities in non-HIV care and further engaging physicians delivering HIV care are needed to optimize the response to the HIV epidemic.