ISSUES ON RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN VIRAL CONTROL

Viral control is an intermediate outcome of therapy that is tightly linked to long-term outcomes, including survival (Sarrazin et al. 2018). Along with this meaning, comes the issue where the viral control experienced by black persons with HIV is less likely compared to the white person does during treatment. This issue has brought upon many question marks as it might be linked tightly to racial disparities which leads to an impenetrable problem. 

With the usage of multi-faceted logistic regression models, the comparison between the white people and the black people is able to be listed. 

This includes the fact that the white patients:- 

~ are often older

~ had higher CD4 counts

~ have lesser commodities

~ have higher retention in care

~ have better medication adherence

In comparison to this, the black patients are more likely to experience the bad part of treatment as compared substantially to the white people. 

Disparities in HIV care outcomes among the black and white patients have been led to studies being done in researching of why's and how's does it occur and such. the aim of such studies is to ensure the relinquishment of such ideas and aim for better life set for patients as it comes from the patient care prepared and served by the hospitality of any medication-related institutions.

    One of said includes the adherence of each patient to antiretroviral medications. This was found via using a national cohort of veterans in HIV care at VHA. along with that, another found factor was the clinic where HIV care was received by the patient.  However, it was also found that differences in retention in care, demographics, and clinical characteristics do not contribute much to said racial disparities. 

    Previously mentioned adherence to medicine, in this case, is connected to the adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy also known as cART. This is the primary mediator for differences in viral control by race. This finding has cause implications for clinical care and health disparity framework. 

    Aside from that, the adherence along with the engagement in care is also impacted by the patient's experience with racism, conspiracy beliefs, or mistrust placed on the provider or medical system. This then highlights the importance of the cultural competency of physicians. Thus, by improving patient-physician communication, better adherence could be shaped and allow the improvement in patient's life quality to happen. 

    Next, we highlight the issue of the clinic's take on racial disparities. Some can be evidently seen as demonstrated that disproportionate use of low-quality providers by black populations accounts for at least a portion of the disparity in health outcomes. The differences in facilities attended by the respective side are prominently different, which creates a strong mediator of racial differences in viral control. 

    Lastly, racial disparities could also be contributed to the differences in clinical resources and clinical team structures across ID clinics. This might be due to the integrated members of the institutions who address patient-level issues in different levels of concern.

So to speak, efforts to standardize the quality of HIV care across all care sites should be standardized so that improvement in adherence to cART could happen thus bettering their quality of life. Understanding the patterns of care, the extent of cultural tailoring of care, and the level of provider cultural competence at lower-performing sites will also aid in achieving similar objectives. 

 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/502530