Funding Opportunity Announcement: PS15-1506: Health Department Demonstration Projects to Reduce HIV Infections and Improve Engagement in HIV Medical Care among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender Persons

Welcome

This website is designed to: (1) support the application process for stakeholders applying for Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) PS15-1506; and (2) to provide a forum for the dissemination of important information to future PS15-1506 funded organizations.

Description

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Prevention Research Branch (PRB) is pleased to announce the publication of Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) PS15-1506: Health Department Demonstration Projects to Reduce HIV Infections and Improve Engagement in HIV Medical Care among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender Persons. This FOA was published on March 31, 2015 on grants.gov. The application deadline is June 1, 2015.

The purpose of this FOA is to support up to 24 state and local health departments in the United States to implement PrEP (Category 1) and Data to Care (Category 2) demonstration projects prioritizing populations of MSM and transgender persons at high risk for HIV infection, particularly persons of color. Organizations that are funded under this FOA will be required to prioritize their services to these populations. Services may also be provided for persons at substantial risk for HIV (for PrEP) or persons who have HIV and are not virally suppressed or have ongoing risk behavior (for Data to Care) who are not MSM or transgender.

Strategies and Activities

Category 1: PrEP support demonstration projects targeting MSM and transgender persons at substantial risk of acquiring HIV

Applicants should propose support activities to strengthen or enhance the ability to identify MSM and transgender person who stand to benefit the most from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), refer appropriate candidates to PrEP providers in the jurisdiction, and increase the number of providers knowledgeable and capable of offering PrEP to MSM and transgender persons at high risk for HIV infection, particularly persons of color.

Example PrEP support activities include:

• Training for clinicians about PrEP including its safety and efficacy, for whom it is indicated, and recommended clinical procedures either directly or in collaboration with local partners (for example, HIV/STD Prevention Training Centers, HRSA funded AIDS Education and Training Centers, PrEP Warmline)
• Training for counselors about PrEP and methods to support medication adherence and maintain sexual risk reduction practices
• The development of policies that support the use of PrEP as an HIV prevention tool in accordance with clinical guidelines
• Create or identify educational materials including online and mobile tools for providers and consumers describing the safety and effectiveness, recommended clinical practices for providing PrEP-related clinical care, and the local availability of PrEP providers
• Develop and conduct media campaigns for providers and consumers to increase awareness of PrEP availability in the local area
• Using disease intervention specialists (DIS) to refer consumers to PrEP services when indicated, consistent with PrEP Guidelines
• Provide screening for indications for PrEP (i.e., level of risk for HIV acquisition) as a routine procedure in conjunction with receiving HIV-negative test results and provision of other offers of services and screening for STDs.
• Enhance PrEP activities through integration with STD and hepatitis screening services
• Referral of consumers to PrEP providers in the local area
• Develop procedures for health department staff to help providers and consumers navigate public and private programs that provide or reimburse for PrEP

Category 2: Data to care demonstration projects that use surveillance data sources to identify newly-diagnosed MSM and transgender persons not in HIV care

“Data to Care” is a strategy for identifying diagnosed persons living with HIV (PLWH) who are not in HIV medical care. Applicants should propose actives that support expanding or enhancing their ability to use HIV surveillance data and other data sources, as appropriate, to improve clinical outcomes along the HIV continuum of care for MSM and transgender persons. These activities use lab reports received by a health department’s surveillance system as markers for HIV care.

Early activities for all proposed demonstration projects include:

• Create new or expand existing partnerships with community-based organizations, LGBT organizations, private health care providers, clinics and community health centers
• Identify and convene Community Advisory Boards to inform program planning and implementation processes
• Develop provider buy-in and support; develop local evaluation framework for activities; assure compliance with CDC/NCHHSTP Security and Confidentiality Guidelines across all programs
• Review of state and local laws and regulations affecting collection and use of HIV surveillance data (for Data to Care activities).
• Some example activities in support of Data to Care include:
• Develop organizational procedures, policies and protocols to use HIV surveillance data, as needed, to engage or re-engage HIV-diagnosed MSM, transgender persons, and other persons who have HIV and are not virally suppressed or have ongoing risk behavior in HIV medical care so they can achieve HIV viral suppression
• Develop confidential list of persons not in HIV medical care from routinely collected HIV surveillance data
• Develop agreements for data sharing across programs when necessary for the purposes of Data to Care
• Enhance Data to Care activities through integration with STD and Hepatitis surveillance data and referrals via existing programs to help identify MSM, transgender persons, and other persons not in HIV care who have HIV and are not virally suppressed or have ongoing risk behavior
• Enhance capacity to implement Data to Care activities through staff training, hiring new staff or redirecting staff activities, working with community-based organizations, or other efforts that build capacity to implement robust Data to Care activities

Eligibility

Eligibility for Category 1 (PrEP Support Demonstration Projects) is limited to health departments whose jurisdiction includes one or more of the thirty two (32) MSAs/MDs in which there are greater than 3,000 MSM living with diagnosed HIV by year-end 2010 (2011 MSA report, table 6b, published Oct 2013).

Eligibility for Category 2 (Data to Care Demonstration Projects) is limited to health departments that are eligible to apply for Category 1 and have complete reporting of all CD4 cell count and HIV viral load results.

Complete laboratory reporting of CD4 and HIV viral load test results is defined as follows:

• The jurisdiction’s laws/regulations require the reporting of all CD4 and viral load results to the state/city health department
• A minimum of 95% of HIV-related test results from laboratories that perform HIV-related testing for each area are being reported to the state/city health department
• The jurisdiction is reporting at least 95% of all CD4 and viral load test results to CDC as of December 31, 2013 (as outlined in the 2012 Monitoring Report, published in November 2014).
• States that have local health departments directly funded by CDC are not eligible to apply for the MSAs/MDs that contain locally funded health departments within the state.State health departments with one eligible MSA/MD are required to work in the specified eligible MSA/MD. States that have more than one eligible MSA/MD may elect to work in all or a reduced number of eligible MSAs or MDs, in order of prevalence.