Newly released data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (NYC DOHMH) HIV Epidemiology and Field Services Program show that of the estimated 87,520 HIV-infected people living in NYC in 2015, 86% received some clinical care¹, and 74% were virally suppressed at their most recent viral load test in 2015².

To help you explore and use these newly available data, the ETE Dashboard Team is pleased to announce the launch of two new interactive data visualizations to further disseminate information on progress towards achieving the End of the AIDS Epidemic in New York:

1. HIV care continuum of people newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City
2. HIV care continuum of people living with HIV in New York City

The HIV care continuum, also known as the care and treatment cascade, is a model and visual tool that describes and quantifies the percent of people living with HIV that reached key sequential stages of engagement in HIV medical care.  This widely employed framework has been used both as a tool to monitor population-level care outcomes and to analyze gaps along the continuum of care to inform quality of care initiatives, service provision, public health programming, and case management efforts at multiple levels.   Using surveillance data provided by the NYC DOHMH, the ETE Dashboard Team has created a new interactive visualization that allows users to view the HIV care continuum by geographic area (e.g. borough, neighborhood) and population group (e.g. stratified by age, sex, race/ethnicity, transmission risk). The data will be updated on a routine basis as they are made available to us. The Dashboard includes a distinct HIV care continuum for newly diagnosed persons (fig. 2), which is critical for examining outcomes among those entering into the HIV care continuum more recently and, by design, incorporates information on the time elapsed between diagnosis, linkage to care, and achieving viral suppression. A new Dashboard feature has also been included, which lets users directly download and share custom made HIV care continua via Facebook and Twitter.   Here is one that we made of Central Harlem, ages 20-29 (2015) and shared on Twitter:

NYC HIV Care Continuum - Central Harlem, ages 20-29 pic.twitter.com/Toy9W2tzQ3 https://t.co/piHjdjQSjn

— Ending the Epidemic (@EtEDashboardNY) February 14, 2017

Click on the links below to make your own custom HIV care continuum and share it on social media!

1. HIV care continuum of people newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City
2. HIV care continuum of people living with HIV in New York City

New York’s three-point plan to move the state closer to ending the AIDS epidemic emphasizes a strategy to “Identify persons with HIV who remained undiagnosed and link them to care” and to “Link and retain persons diagnosed with HIV in health care to maximize virus suppression…”  By presenting these dynamic cascades via the ETE Dashboard, all stakeholders of the ETE initiative now have access to a powerful tool to help track our progress towards achieving some of the most important goals set out in the ETE Blueprint and more quickly identify and address any gaps along the continuum. NOTE – Interactive visualizations for the rest of New York State are coming soon to the ETE Dashboard, including HIV care continua at the county and regional levels.

 ¹Proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS with ≥1 viral load or CD4 count in 2015, reported to NYC HIV surveillance.

²Proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS with a viral load measurement of ≤200 copies/mL at test closest to end of 2015.