Springfield, Ill. – Nov. 15, 2018 – As part of a continuing effort to assist people living with HIV who are affected by social determinants of health, Illinois HIV Care Connect today introduced “Good Health Is More Than Health Care” web content to support the “Good Health Is More Than Health Care” Quiz. People living with HIV are encouraged to review the content and take the quiz.
The content and a link to the quiz can be found at https://hivcareconnect.com/good-health. The quiz can be found at https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4562185/Good-Health-Is-More-Than-Health-Care-Quiz.
For people living with HIV, regularly seeing a doctor and taking anti-HIV medications are very important. But research shows that the social and economic conditions in which they live, learn and work have a tremendous impact on their health, as well. The “Good Health Is More Than Health Care” campaign is designed to help people living with HIV to manage these conditions, which are known as “social determinants of health.”
These determinants include things such as food insecurity, health care costs, housing instability, language barriers, lack of access to dental and mental health care, child care responsibilities, substance abuse, transportation needs, utility stress, and more.
For example:
— The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that one of eight Americans – 42 million people, including 13 million children – lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
— People living with HIV sometimes risk falling behind on payments and losing their housing due to increased medical costs and having a reduced ability to work.
— According to the American Hospital Association, more than 3.6 million people in the United States do not obtain medical care because they lack a vehicle, access to public transportation, or the money to buy a ticket. Missed or delayed health care appointments result in poorer health outcomes and higher costs.
Illinois HIV Care Connect can help enrollees to overcome social and economic obstacles
People living with HIV who enroll in Illinois HIV Care Connect may qualify for programs that may provide assistance in overcoming some of these social and economic obstacles. Among these programs are Medicaid, Medicare, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the ADAP Medication Assistance Program (MAP), the CHIC Premium Assistance Program (PAP), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and others.
“The ‘Good Health Is More Than Health Care’ campaign encourages people living with HIV to enroll in Illinois HIV Care Connect while reminding those already enrolled of the program’s benefits,” said Michael Maginn, HIV project manager for the Illinois Public Health Association, which manages the Illinois HIV Care Connect program with funding from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Depending on a person’s needs and income level, these benefits may include access to medical, dental and mental health care, including child health care and treatment for substance abuse; assistance paying health insurance premiums or purchasing HIV medications; and obtaining necessary food, housing, utilities, and medically related transportation. An Illinois HIV Care Connect case manager helps enrollees to determine which benefits they quality for.
People living with HIV in Illinois may contact the closest of seven regional offices to learn more about how Illinois HIV Care Connect can help them live healthy with HIV. Not all services may be available, and the nature of services may vary, by regional office.
WAND-TV and WSIU-TV have completed stories featuring the “Good Health Is More Than Health Care” Quiz.
About Illinois HIV Care Connect
Illinois HIV Care Connect is a statewide network providing medical case management, health care and support services to people living with HIV. About 45,000 Illinois residents are estimated to be living with HIV. Illinois HIV Care Connect lead agency offices located in Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Belleville, Murphysboro, Champaign and Chicago serve people living with HIV in all of Illinois’ 102 counties. https://hivcareconnect.com
Media contact: Ray Valek, ray@valekco.com, 708-352-8695