Limited English proficiency among adults with HIV in the United States – Medical Monitoring Project, 2015–2018

Research suggests that language barriers in health care settings may adversely affect clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. We describe the characteristics of adults with limited English proficiency (LEP) and diagnosed HIV in the United States. The Medical Monitoring Project is a complex sample survey of adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States that uses two-stage, probability-proportional-to-size sampling. We analyzed weighted interview and medical record data collected from June 2015–May 2018. The prevalence of LEP among adults with HIV was 10%. Higher percentages of adults with LEP, compared with adults with English proficiency (EP), were female, Hispanic/Latino, less educated and poor, only had Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) health care coverage, attended RWHAP-funded facilities, were satisfied with their HIV medical care, were prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART), were virally suppressed and received testing for sexually transmitted diseases. We found no statistical difference in ART adherence among adults with LEP and EP. Despite the association between LEP and the risk for health disparities, more persons with LEP were virally suppressed compared with persons with EP. One possible explanation is attendance at RWHAP-funded facilities by adults with LEP; however, future studies are needed to explore other possible explanations.