Medical Mentorship
Young people living with HIV are also less likely to remain in care or to have viral suppression. Young people living with HIV typically enter adult care by the age of 25. However, they often face a variety of barriers during and after the transition, which may include concerns about confidentiality, privacy, and trust in the adult setting. Medical mentorship, where young people living with HIV have an experienced mentor to provide support, can help.
The Power of Mentorship
Young people ages 13-24 have always known a world with HIV. Although ongoing scientific advances in prevention and treatment have cut the numbers of new infections substantially, young people remain disproportionately affected. 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses in the US were among young people in this age group, and only half know their status. Young people also have low rates of HIV testing and are least likely to be connected to HIV care after testing positive.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing a mentorship program that supports young people living with HIV. In 2017, ViiV Healthcare first provided funding to a cohort of organizations across the country seeking to either pilot or expand a variety of programs approaching medical mentorship in different ways through the Positive Action for Youth (PAFY) initiative. The PAFY initiative was developed in response to the disparities young people living with HIV face as well as the rising rate of HIV diagnoses among youth, with the goal of supporting more young people navigate into and stay engaged in adult healthcare via mentorship. Advocates for Youth was also funded to conduct a collaborative co-creation process that would leverage the voices and expertise of the community as well as best practices, learnings and recommendations for medical mentorship shared by the first PAFY grantees.
The Toolkit includes a variety of sections and resources on creating a mentorship program and infusing a youth-adult partnership model lens.
Creating a mentorship program at your organization or agency can assist young people living with HIV to successfully transition to adult care. Organizations that may consider creating such a program include:
- Adolescent HIV healthcare settings
- Adult HIV healthcare settings
- Community-based organizations
- Faith-based organization
Fortunately, mentorship is recognized as an effective strategy to support young people living with HIV in building the self-management skills needed to successfully transition from pediatric to adult care, the point at which they are most likely to fall out of care.
Advocates for Youth has partnered with young people living with HIV, pediatric and adult care providers, and a variety of community-based and AIDS service organizations to design Medical Mentorship for Young People Living With HIV: Toolkit and Guide, created specifically for organizations and individuals dedicated to supporting youth, ages 13 to 24 living with HIV, to smoothly transition to and navigate adult care.
This publication reflects the collaborative efforts of Advocates for Youth (AFY) and youth activists in our Engaging Communities around HIV Organizing (ECHO) cohort, and the first round of ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action for Youth (PAFY) initiative Grantees: Abounding Prosperity, AIDS Alabama, Center on Halsted, RAIN, Inc., and NAESM, Inc. With support from ViiV Healthcare’s PAFY initiative, AFY conducted a collaborative co-creation process that leveraged the voices and expertise of the community as well as best practices, learnings, and recommendations shared by the first PAFY grantees. This publication’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of ViiV Healthcare.
