D.C. Cohort Longitudinal HIV Status Neutral Study

To learn more about the D.C. Cohort Longitudinal HIV Status Neutral Study, visit http://go.gwu.edu/dccohort

The DC Cohort is a longitudinal research project that will collect clinical data from approximately 19,000 consenting patients receiving HIV prevention services or care at multiple clinics in the District of Columbia. The DC Cohort is sponsored by the  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The primary project goal is to contribute to improving the quality of care and treatment of people receiving HIV prevention services and HIV care provided by the District of Columbia by:

• Linking data from multiple treatment sites to enable evaluation of HIV prevention services and HIV care provided in the District of Columbia
• Monitoring socio-demographic data, clinical status, and treatment regimens of people receiving HIV prevention services or HIV care in DC over time
• Providing clinic sites with routine reports on their patient population that will enable them to benchmark and improve their standards of clinical care
• Contributing to the research of emerging issues in the prevention, treatment, and long term effects of people receiving HIV prevention services or HIV care
• Evaluating the impact of HIV screening and prevention programs in collaboration with the DC Department of Health

The project's scientific objectives are to contribute to the knowledge regarding HIV prevention services and HIV treatment through:

• Evaluating the outcomes of HIV medications for prevention and treatment over time
• Examining HIV resistance patterns over time in relationship to treatment patterns and patient characteristics among people diagnosed with HIV
• Assessing the extent and impact of co-morbidities, such as hepatitis, diabetes, lipidemia, and STDs, on clinical outcomes among people diagnosed with HIV compared to those at higher likelihood of infection
• Advancing research on emerging issues in HIV prevention and its treatment