Hardships and Perceived Barriers to Medical Care Among Newly Diagnosed People With HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose of the researchA major consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic was a disruption of medical care in the United States. Using cross-sectional data from an ongoing randomized clinical trial, we examined severity of COVID-related hardships and other factors that might have influenced newly diagnosed people with HIV's (PWH's) receipt of care during the initial years of the pandemic (2020-22).Major findingsIn a sample of 29 newly diagnosed PWH presenting for care at three geographically diverse medical clinics in the United States, results showed that most patients (72.4%) reported that obtaining an HIV medical appointment during the pandemic was "easy." Correlational analyses found that COVID-related hardships were significantly related to overall health and functioning, as well as experiences of discrimination.ConclusionsTaken together, these findings align with previous results to show that already vulnerable populations were particularly affected by service disruptions, but that many patients were able to access care despite the pandemic.