Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of planning for when individuals are unable to make their own healthcare decisions. Research suggests ACP is understudied among HIV-positive African Americans. We explored ACP knowledge, preferences, and practices with HIV-positive African Americans from an urban HIV-specialty clinic (AFFIRM study). ⋯ Qualitative themes were: (1) impact of managing pain on quality of life and healthcare, (2) knowledge/preferences for ACP, and (3) sources of HIV supportive care and coping (N = 39). Correlates of having discussed ACP included: moderate pain intensity (p < 0.10), including supporters in health decisions (p < 0.001), religious attendance (p < 0.05), and knowledge of healthcare mandates (p < 0.01; N = 276). Findings highlight the need for patient education to document healthcare preferences and communication skills development to promote inclusion of caregivers in decision-making.
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Deaths attributable to hepatitis C (HCV) infection are increasing in the USA even as highly effective treatments become available. Neighborhood-level inequalities create barriers to care and treatment for many vulnerable populations. We seek to characterize citywide trends in HCV mortality rates over time and identify and describe neighborhoods in New York City (NYC) with disproportionately high rates and associated factors. ⋯ The rates of HCV mortality in NYC are increasing and vary by neighborhood. HCV mortality is associated with many indicators of geographic inequality. Results identified neighborhoods in greatest need for place-based interventions to address social determinants that may perpetuate inequalities in HCV mortality.