| dc.description.abstract | Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the largest public and global health problems. In 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) put forth the Treat All recommendation for HIV, which officially states that countries should treat all persons living with HIV. Each of the three countries examined in this thesis, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, adopted a treat all policy towards HIV. Health Equity is a public health goal that seeks to eliminate disparities in quality of healthcare among different peoples. This thesis provides an overview of the HIV epidemics in each of Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. This is done by focusing on four areas: 1) the social and political responses to HIV, 2) the effects of prevention and treatment programs, 3) what makes the HIV epidemic unique in each country, and 4) ongoing health equity concerns. Additionally, this thesis includes statical analyses of data from the Caribbean, Central, and South America network for HIV epidemiology (CCASAnet) to understand the demographic profiles of individuals that are loss-to-follow-up. Understanding the demographic characteristics of these loss-to-follow-up populations is imperative for achieving goals around health equity, as these populations are less likely to adhere to their HIV treatment, which leads to worse health outcomes. This thesis finds that women and younger populations have higher odds of being loss-to-follow-up when compared to men and older populations. Thus, to achieve health equity and end the HIV epidemic public health practitioners need to tailor interventions and polices that directly address these populations. | |
