Lead: Public Health England (PHE)

Partners: RegionH, SSAT, INSERM, GNP+, ISCIII, NIHD

In order to obtain better data on linkage to care and observe any regional differences, the treatment cascade notion will be deployed and monitored in different countries representing different epidemics and health care structures, to present an applicable definition and standard methodology. There are 3 phases to this work package.

1)      Existing literature is to be reviewed, and the type of HIV quality of care measures that are available locally or nationally across the EU are to be assessed. Specific focus will be on linkage to and retention in HIV healthcare, and levels of treatment uptake. This includes identifying any stigma and legal/criminalization barriers to linkage to care, which will form a separate part of the review.

2)      From the literature review, consensus from key stakeholders and experts in the field shall be sought in order to develop standard definitions for linkage to and retention in care. In collaboration with WP6, the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of these tools will be assessed

3)      Approved case definitions and methodologies for measuring linkage to and retention in HIV care will be piloted in UK, France, Estonia, Spain, Poland, Greece, and Czech Republic, with a view of presenting a comparable ‘treatment cascade’ for all countries across Europe. From these data, country/region-specific best-practice guidelines and tools to help secure improved linkage to care following HIV testing and diagnosis will be developed. A final evaluation stage will focus on quantifying the uptake of these guidelines in practice.

Contact: Valerie Delpech: Valerie.Delpech@phe.gov.uk