Using the ATra Black Box for near real-time depiction of the HIV Continuum of Care in the Ryan White DC Eligible Metropolitan Area

BACKGROUND: Gaps in public health data include jurisdiction specific data systems that are utilized to measure progress on key regional and national indicators. The ATra Black Box (Box) is an electronic privacy-assuring system developed by Georgetown University which allows for the secure and streamlined exchange and analysis of sensitive data. An enhancement was added to the Box to calculate HIV Care Continuum measures in the Ryan White Part A DC Eligible Metropolitan Area (DC EMA). SETTING: The DC EMA includes DC, southern MD, northern VA, and 2 counties in WV. METHODS: Georgetown implemented new functionality in the Box to create a DC EMA wide report of deduplicated care continuum data. SAS codes used the new Box functionality to select persons living in the DC EMA counties and produce the HIV Care Continuum for the DC EMA for calendar year 2024, including stratifications by race, gender, age, and transmission category, and place of care receipt. RESULTS: 51,033 duplicated and 39,047 deduplicated persons were identified as alive and residing in the DC EMA in 2024. Overall, 68.4% of these persons received HIV care and 61.6% achieved viral suppression as of December 31, 2024. CONCLUSION: This analysis provides deduplicated estimates of persons living with HIV in the DC EMA and key indicators used to measure progress on ending HIV in the United States. The jurisdictions in the DC EMA are able to more accurately monitor engagement in care and viral suppression and more effectively guide public health efforts and resources.