The Network Navigator's Role: Innovation in HIV Care
Abstract
This poster presentation will discuss the pivotal role of the network navigator in engagement, linkage, retention in care and focused community outreach. In NC REACH, the Network navigators play a key role in the coordination of services between the HIV service system and the housing system, with the goal of providing seamless care for homeless/unstably housed populations.
Proposal Summary
Research indicates that HIV is 3-9 times more prevalent among homeless individuals than those in stable housing. To address this disparity in rural North Carolina, NC REACH is a demonstration project funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Special Projects of National Significance (HRSA/SPNS) initiative to engage and retain patients with HIV in medical care. Patients targeted for this intervention are homeless or unstably housed and have a co-occurring substance abuse or mental health condition in addition to being HIV positive. Our poster will visually display the specific needs of the SPNS participants and include how the responsibilities of the Network Navigator's role are essential in decreasing those barriers to retention in care. The poster will also demonstrate how the Network Navigator's role has improved timely entry, engagement, and retention in HIV care and supportive services for the SPNS participants. The Network Navigator is one of three innovative components of this effective intervention.Moreover, we will present how the role of the Network Navigator has been used to build sustainable linkages to mental health, substance use treatment, and HIV primary care for the SPNS participants. This innovative role has been key to engagement, connecting patients to community housing and other support services, advocacy, and providing culturally competent patient centered care.
Relevance And Significance
HIV positive homeless clients in rural North Carolina face specific challenges securing stable housing and managing their illness. This presentation will convey the social determinant at play for this population and how the role of the Network Navigator has decreased these issues in the NC REACH/SPNS project. We hope this information will inform other service providers who work with rural population the importance of having a Network Navigator on staff dedicated to securing housing for the patients. Furthermore, we hope to strengthen advocacy efforts to promote programs to help patients who are homeless/unstabledly housed.
Session Format
Poster Session
Keywords
Housing, HIV Care, Retention, Innovation
Location
Lobby
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
McKeithan, Lisa D.; Banks, Bahby; Pellam, Shalonda; McCullen, Krystal; Allende, Mirna; Atkinson, Stephanie; Stroughton, Janet; and Wohl, David, "The Network Navigator's Role: Innovation in HIV Care" (2016). 9th Annual Rural HIV Research and Training Conference (2014-2019). 4.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ruralhiv/2016/2016/4
The Network Navigator's Role: Innovation in HIV Care
Lobby
This poster presentation will discuss the pivotal role of the network navigator in engagement, linkage, retention in care and focused community outreach. In NC REACH, the Network navigators play a key role in the coordination of services between the HIV service system and the housing system, with the goal of providing seamless care for homeless/unstably housed populations.
