Work

Optimizing HIV Partner Services for Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Previously Diagnosed With HIV: A Modeling Study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: HIV Partner Services (HIV-PS) is a vital strategy for identifying and linking individuals to treatment and prevention; however, its population-level impact has been limited. This study investigated the potential impact of expanding HIV-PS to include previously diagnosed individuals and a broader sexual partner network in reducing HIV incidence among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). METHODS: Stochastic network models were used to simulate HIV and bacterial sexually transmitted infection transmission within male same-sex partnerships in Atlanta. Two primary interventions were examined: prioritizing people with previously diagnosed HIV who were out-of-care (PWDH-OOC) in routine HIV-PS and expanding partner elicitation to include partners of HIV-positive partners of index cases. We quantified how modifications to HIV-PS cascade steps under these interventions would impact HIV incidence among GBMSM. RESULTS: Expanded partner elicitation modestly increased the pool of partners eligible for linkage to transmission-disrupting services, with minimal impact on HIV incidence. In contrast, including PWDH-OOC led to a 10-fold increase in both index-case and partner pools. However, substantial reductions in HIV incidence required enhancements to other HIV-PS steps, particularly in partner identification and antiretroviral therapy (ART) reengagement for PWDH-OOC. Prioritizing ART reengagement for PWDH-OOC, alongside optimized HIV-PS, resulted in up to 63% of HIV infections being averted. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the potential of strategic improvements to HIV-PS for accelerating HIV incidence reduction among GBMSM. Synergistic optimization of HIV-PS, along with prioritizing ART reengagement for previously diagnosed individuals, will be essential for achieving substantial reductions in HIV incidence.

Source: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

DOI: 10.1097/olq.0000000000002167

Authors: Udodirim N. Onwubiko, Adrien Le Guillou, Cynthia Lyles, Kevin M. Maloney, Kevin P. Delaney, Samuel M. Jenness