A newly published study found that HIV patients in the rural South are far less likely to have local access to experienced HIV clinicians.
They examined 14 states (including Oklahoma, Arkansas and Maryland in the broader South) and found 5,012 clinicians who routinely treat HIV. Of those, 28 percent were considered "HIV-experienced," and most of them practiced in metropolitan areas. Over all, 81% of counties—the vast majority of them rural—had no HIV-experienced clinicians, the researchers found.
"Significant urban-rural disparities exist in HIV-experienced workforce capacity for Southern U.S. communities," the researchers conclude. "Policies to improve equity in access to HIV-experienced clinical care for both urban and rural communities are urgently needed."
They examined 14 states (including Oklahoma, Arkansas and Maryland in the broader South) and found 5,012 clinicians who routinely treat HIV. Of those, 28 percent were considered "HIV-experienced," and most of them practiced in metropolitan areas. Over all, 81% of counties—the vast majority of them rural—had no HIV-experienced clinicians, the researchers found.
"Significant urban-rural disparities exist in HIV-experienced workforce capacity for Southern U.S. communities," the researchers conclude. "Policies to improve equity in access to HIV-experienced clinical care for both urban and rural communities are urgently needed."
Rural HIV infection rates are rising in much of rural America, even as rates fall in many large cities.
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