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Physical activity is associated with improved health outcomes among people with HIV (PWH). In the recent pandemic context, policies designed to mitigate COVID-19 transmission may result in an increase in sedentary lifestyle and decreased physical activity. In this study, we aimed to characterize self-reported physical activity and factors associated with physical inactivity during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of PWH engaged in care. We also described whether psychological coping strategies measured by the Brief COPE differed based on physical activity levels. Among 260 surveyed PWH in two HIV clinics in the US Northeast, 28.5% (n = 74) met the criteria for being physically active according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s physical activity guidelines. Receiving care in New Haven, CT, presence of a detectable HIV viral load, every day tobacco use, and unhealthy alcohol use were associated with physical inactivity. Problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and avoidance-focused coping strategies were found to be protective against physical inactivity. In adjusted analysis, only problem-focused coping continued to be significantly associated with lower odds of reporting physical inactivity. Efforts are urgently needed to promote physical activity among PWH, including among those without problem-focused coping strategies., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In response to longstanding healthcare inequities unmasked by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, the infectious diseases (ID) section at the Yale School of Medicine designed and implemented a pilot curriculum integrating Infectious Disease Diversity, Equity, and Antiracism (ID2EA) into ID educational training and measured program outcomes. We herein describe a mixed-methods assessment of section members on whether the ID2EA curriculum affected their beliefs and behaviors regarding racism and healthcare inequities. Participants rated the curriculum as useful (92% averaging across sessions) and effective in achieving stated learning objectives (89% averaging across sessions), including fostering understanding of how inequities and racism are linked to health disparities and identifying strategies to effectively deal with racism and inequities. Despite limitations in response rates and assessment of longer-term behavioral change, this work demonstrates that training in diversity, equity, and antiracism can be successfully integrated into ID physicians' educational activities and affect physicians' perspectives on these topics., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. S. E. G. reports that the Yale School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine awarded an $5000 educational research grant to the ID2EA committee. This award is to expand the curriculum and work of the committee, and none of the funding goes directly to committee members. B. E. reports consulting fees from and participation on data safety monitoring or advisory board for Theratechnologies (treatment-experienced human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] and HIV and liver disease). M. P. G. reports payment or honoraria from Health Monitor Network for contributing to an article (payment to author) and participation as a data safety monitoring board member for Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (use of methotrexate for treatment of chikungunya arthritis in Brazil). J. P. M. reports grants or contracts to institution from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Gilead Science; consulting fees to author from the National Institute on Drug Abuse; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events to author from the Opioid Response Network, the National Institutes of Health grant review, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant review, University of Massachusetts Worcester, and the New England AIDS Education and Training Center; payment for expert testimony to author from Budge and Heipt, Yale Law School, Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP, Baltimore CDF, Silver Golub & Teitell, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (John Fowler). J. R. reports an unpaid role as chair of the Advocacy Committee for the History of Science Society. S. V. S. reports that her spouse worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals from 1997 to 2007 and retains stock in a retirement account (no conflict of interest regarding the current work but included for full disclosure). M. V. reports HRSA-22-028 (HIV and aging Special Projects of National Significance grant) from Yale University and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (Ryan White Part B funding) from Yale–New Haven Hospital; personal consulting fees from ViiV Healthcare, Gilead Sciences, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals; personal payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from the CT AIDS Education and Training Center and Northeast AIDS Education and Training Center; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Yale University for the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections and from the CT State Medical Society for American Medical Association national meetings; noncompensated roles as president of the New Haven County Medical Association, a board member for Project Access New Haven, and a council member for the CT State Medical Society; stock or stock options within retirement funds; and other personal financial or nonfinancial interests in Healthline and Guidepoint. M. S. D. reports roles as president and past president of American Committee of Molecular, Cellular, and Immunoparasitology subgroup of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

To characterize perspectives and experiences with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a mixed-methods study in two HIV clinics in the US Northeast. Among surveyed patients with HIV (PWH) who had a telemedicine appointment (n = 205), 42.4% perceived telemedicine visits as useful during the pandemic. PWH and clinical staff identified benefits of telemedicine: (1) ability to engage and re-engage patients in care; (2) perceived patient-centeredness and flexibility; (3) opportunity to engage family and multidisciplinary care team members; and (4) opportunity to enhance telemedicine use proficiency through practice and support. Identified barriers included: (1) technical challenges; (2) privacy concerns; (3) loss of routine clinical experiences and interactions; (4) limited objective patient remote monitoring; and (5) reimbursement concerns. Efforts to optimize telemedicine for HIV care should consider strategies to improve technology support for PWH, flexible options to access care, additional platforms to allow patient remote monitoring, and appropriate billing and reimbursement methods., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

There continue to be conflicting data regarding the outcomes of people with HIV (PWH) who have COVID-19 infection with most studies describing the early epidemic. We present a single site experience spanning a later timeframe from the first report on January 21, 2020 to January 20, 2021 and describe clinical outcomes and predictors of hospitalization among a cohort of PWH in an urban center in Connecticut, USA. Among 103 PWH with controlled HIV disease, hospitalization occurred in 33% and overall mortality was 1%. HIV associated factors (CD4 count, HIV viral suppression) were not associated with hospitalization. Chronic lung disease (OR: 3.35, 95% CI:1.28-8.72), and cardiovascular disease (OR: 3.4, 95% CI:1.27-9.12) were independently associated with hospitalization. An increasing number of non-communicable comorbidities increased the likelihood of hospitalization (OR: 1.61, 95% CI:1.22-2.13)., Competing Interests: Sheela Shenoi’s spouse worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals from 1997 to 2007 and retains company stock in his retirement account. While no conflict of interest is involved, this information is included here in the interest of full disclosure. All other authors report no potential conflicts of interest. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.