The DC Cohort Longitudinal HIV Status Neutral Study

The goal of the DC Cohort is to establish a clinic-based city-wide longitudinal cohort that will describe clinical outcomes, and improve the quality of care for patients diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) or at higher risk for acquiring HIV and receiving care in Washington, DC.

All major community and academic clinics treating persons with HIV in the District of Columbia (DC) are included in the "DC Cohort", with consideration to be given subsequently to the inclusion of large private physician practices. Recruitment of persons at higher risk for acquiring HIV will occur in selected clinics based on the numbers of persons estimated to be receiving HIV preventive services at those clinics. Socio-demographics, risk factors, treatments, diagnoses, labs and procedures documented in outpatient medical record systems will be included in the DC Cohort database. Routine reports will be generated every quarter for sites comparing their participants' socio-demographics, clinical status, treatments, and outcomes to all other data in the DC Cohort database, and other comparisons specifically requested by sites. All sites will be provided analytic support in research areas of interest.