Abstract
PURPOSE: Develop a spatially dynamic agent-based model to assess the impact of gentrification-induced migration on HIV transmission among heterosexual African American/Black women. METHODS: We simulated a population of heterosexual African American/Black adults diagnosed with or at risk for HIV in a spatially dynamic agent-based model. We included behavioral and HIV-related probabilities based on neighborhood of residence, distance to healthcare facilities from their neighborhood, and neighborhood disadvantage status. To assess the impact of gentrification, migration was implemented in the model using probabilities that varied based on the gentrification status of their neighborhood. We then compared this scenario to a scenario where gentrification does not impact migration. RESULTS: Among African American/Black women, we estimated their mean incidence rates for the scenarios with and without gentrification impacting out-migration to be 57.2 and 57.4 per 100,000, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Gentrification appears to have minimal impact on HIV transmission based on some metrics, possibly because of the displacement of people most affected by HIV.