Characteristics of SHAPE participants (n=644) at time of study enrolment
| Variable | Count, n (%) or median (Q1–Q3) |
| Education level | |
| Less than high school | 147 (23) |
| Completed high school | 193 (30) |
| Greater than high school | 302 (47) |
| Sexual orientation | |
| Heterosexual | 240 (37) |
| Gay or lesbian | 315 (49) |
| Other | 89 (14) |
| Annual income for year prior to enrolment ($) | 16 800 (13 200–30 720) |
| Currently employed | 292 (45) |
| Food insecure* | 326 (51) |
| Currently receiving housing subsidy | 232 (36) |
| Incarceration history | |
| Incarcerated within the past year | 19 (3) |
| Yes, but not within the past year | 209 (32) |
| Never incarcerated | 416 (65) |
| History of homelessness | |
| Currently homeless | 27 (4) |
| Yes, in the past year but not now | 65 (10) |
| Yes, but not in the past year | 231 (36) |
| Never homeless | 321 (50) |
| Mental illness diagnosis, ever | 341 (53) |
| CES-D 10 (depression) score | 9 (5–16) |
| Significantly depressed† | 312 (48) |
| MOS-SSS (social support) score‡ | 65 (42–86) |
| AUDIT-C (alcohol use) score | 2 (0–5) |
| Hazardous alcohol use§ | 247 (38) |
| HIV stigma score¶ | 48 (33–63) |
| Use of supportive services since HIV diagnosis | |
| Peer navigation | 225 (37) |
| ASOs | 451 (71) |
| Food bank/meal programme | 269 (44) |
| Other | 221 (36) |
| Clinical variables | |
| Hepatitis C coinfection | 215 (33) |
| Years since HIV diagnosis** | 15 (8–21) |
| Viral load testing rate (tests/year during year prior to baseline**) | 4 (3–5) |
| Years on ART** | 7 (4–12) |
| ART interruption ever**†† | 319 (50) |
*Food insecure was defined as often or sometimes unable to afford to eat balanced meals in the past 12 months.
†The CES-D 10 measures depressive symptomology using a shortened 10-item scale that has been validated for use among PLWH in BC.22 The possible range is 0–30 with scores ≥10 indicating the presence of significant depressive symptoms.
‡The MOS-SSS is an overall support index calculated by transforming scores from a 19-item scale to have a range of 0–100; higher scores indicate greater social support. Instructions for scoring and interpreting the MOS-SSS are available at www.rand.org/health-care/surveys_tools/mos/social-support.html.
§This validated and shortened version of the AUDIT scale has a possible range of 0–12 with scores ≥4 for men and ≥3 for women indicating hazardous alcohol use.
¶HIV stigma scores have been reparametrised to have a range of 0–100 with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stigma. Scores are calculated based on a shortened and validated 10-item version of the scale, which includes items from all four subscales of the original 40-item scale: personalised stigma, disclosure concerns, negative self-image and concern with public attitudes.27
**As of study enrolment date for SHAPE participants.
††ART interruption defined as 90 days or longer off ART among individuals who have ever initiated treatment. A limitation of this assessment is that we lack information concerning clinical trial status of SHAPE participants and non-respondents, which may inflate the appearance of treatment interruptions in our data.
ART, antiretroviral therapy; ASO, AIDS service organisation; AUDIT-C, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise; BC, British Columbia; CES-D 10, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; MOS-SSS, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey; SHAPE, Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS Program Evaluation.