This month, CDC released a supplemental surveillance report on selected national HIV prevention and care objectives. The report, Monitoring Selected National HIV Prevention and Care Objectives by Using HIV Surveillance Data, includes only those objectives that use surveillance data in their calculations. Data for each state and territory in the US are provided.
Iowa ranked very well among the states for most (but not all) measures. Below is a table of the measures, Iowa’s data, Iowa’s rank among the other states (including the District of Columbia), and the national average for each measure. Data from the six dependent areas are not included in the table. Please refer to the report for specifics on how the measures were calculated.
Iowa was ranked highest in the nation for the proportion of people diagnosed and living with HIV who had at least two viral loads and/or CD4+ cell counts in 2015 (i.e., retention in care). We were also in the top five states for other measures of care, including linkage to care and viral suppression.
However, Iowa did not fare nearly as well for late diagnosis of HIV or for deaths of those diagnosed and living with HIV. We have improved quite a bit recently on late diagnoses, but we still have quite a ways to go to be in the top five in that category. In 2016, we ranked 25th among states. We also need to investigate why we have such poor outcomes among people living with HIV compared to other states, especially when our system of care is so good. We ranked 22nd among states for the rate of deaths among people diagnosed and living with HIV.
Keep up the excellent work on Iowa’s system of HIV care! We have much to be proud of, but still some work ahead of us to do.