| Summary: | The research study Positive Connections tested the Health Systems Navigation (HSN) model, an intervention linking near-peer interventionists with underserved HIV-infected individuals to assist them to become engaged and retained in HIV medical care through supportive services and facilitated referrals. Working with a core group of local AIDS service organizations to identify unstable and out-of-care HIV-positive individuals, the HSN will enroll and provide health system navigation to participants. The principal goal was to enhance the probability that individuals from historically underserved populations would become engaged and retained in high quality, culturally competent HIV care. The theoretical basis for this intervention included individual behavior change models, social and community networks, and provider cultural competence. This project also sought to improve the understanding and the measurement of health care access problems by seeking to determine which problems have indicators and which do not, and to identify steps that can be taken to develop a reliable access monitoring system. The concept of Health Systems Navigator has been developed by the Multicultural AIDS Coalition.
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