HIV Care Outcomes Among Blacks with Diagnosed HIV - United States, 2014

Since the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) (1) and the establishment of the federal Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Care Continuum Initiative (2), federal efforts have accelerated to improve and increase HIV testing, care, and treatment and to reduce HIV-related disparities in the United States. National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS)* data are used to monitor progress toward reaching NHAS goals, and recent data indicate that blacks have lower levels of care and viral suppression than do persons of other racial and ethnic groups (3). Among persons with HIV infection diagnosed through 2012 who were alive at year-end 2013, 68.1% of blacks received any HIV medical care compared with 74.4% of whites (3). CDC used NHSS data to describe HIV care outcomes among blacks who received a diagnosis of HIV. Among blacks with HIV infection diagnosed in 2014, 21.9% had infection classified as HIV stage 3 (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS]) at the time of diagnosis compared with 22.5% of whites; 71.6% of blacks were linked to care within 1 month after diagnosis compared with 79.0% of whites. Among blacks with HIV infection diagnosed through 2012 who were alive on December 31, 2013, 53.5% were receiving continuous HIV medical care compared with 58.2% of whites; 48.5% of blacks achieved viral suppression compared with 62.0% of whites. Intensified efforts and implementation of effective interventions and public health strategies that increase engagement in care and viral suppression among blacks (1,4) are needed to achieve NHAS goals.