Dataset Information

Beyond HIV outbreaks: protocol, rationale and implementation of a prospective study quantifying the benefit of incorporating viral sequence clustering analysis into routine public health interventions.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

HIV continues to have great impact on millions of lives. Novel methods are needed to disrupt HIV transmission networks. In the USA, public health departments routinely conduct contact tracing and partner services and interview newly HIV-diagnosed index cases to obtain information on social networks and guide prevention interventions. Sequence clustering methods able to infer HIV networks have been used to investigate and halt outbreaks. Incorporation of such methods into routine, not only outbreak-driven, contact tracing and partner services holds promise for further disruption of HIV transmissions.

Methods and analysis

Building on a strong academic-public health collaboration in Rhode Island, we designed and have implemented a state-wide prospective study to evaluate an intervention that incorporates real-time HIV molecular clustering information with routine contact tracing and partner services. We present the rationale and study design of our approach to integrate sequence clustering methods into routine public health interventions as well as related important ethical considerations. This prospective study addresses key questions about the benefit of incorporating a clustering analysis triggered intervention into the routine workflow of public health departments, going beyond outbreak-only circumstances. By developing an intervention triggered by, and incorporating information from, viral sequence clustering analysis, and evaluating it with a novel design that avoids randomisation while allowing for methods comparison, we are confident that this study will inform how viral sequence clustering analysis can be routinely integrated into public health to support the ending of the HIV pandemic in the USA and beyond.

Ethics and dissemination

The study was approved by both the Lifespan and Rhode Island Department of Health Human Subjects Research Institutional Review Boards and study results will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

SUBMITTER: Steingrimsson JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9024226 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Beyond HIV outbreaks: protocol, rationale and implementation of a prospective study quantifying the benefit of incorporating viral sequence clustering analysis into routine public health interventions.

Steingrimsson Jon A JA Fulton John J Howison Mark M Novitsky Vlad V Gillani Fizza S FS Bertrand Thomas T Civitarese Anna A Howe Katharine K Ronquillo Guillermo G Lafazia Benjamin B Parillo Zoanne Z Marak Theodore T Chan Philip A PA Bhattarai Lila L Dunn Casey C Bandy Utpala U Scott Nicole Alexander NA Hogan Joseph W JW Kantor Rami R

BMJ open 20220421 4

<h4>Introduction</h4>HIV continues to have great impact on millions of lives. Novel methods are needed to disrupt HIV transmission networks. In the USA, public health departments routinely conduct contact tracing and partner services and interview newly HIV-diagnosed index cases to obtain information on social networks and guide prevention interventions. Sequence clustering methods able to infer HIV networks have been used to investigate and halt outbreaks. Incorporation of such methods into rou ...[more]

PMID: 35450916

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Dataset Information

Beyond HIV outbreaks: protocol, rationale and implementation of a prospective study quantifying the benefit of incorporating viral sequence clustering analysis into routine public health interventions.

Introduction

Methods and analysis

Ethics and dissemination

Publications

Beyond HIV outbreaks: protocol, rationale and implementation of a prospective study quantifying the benefit of incorporating viral sequence clustering analysis into routine public health interventions.

Similar Datasets

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