Notice of Funding Opportunity PS23-002: Enhancing Telehealth Strategies to Support Retention and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)

This website is designed to:

• Support the application process for health departments applying for Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PS23-002, and
• Provide a forum for the dissemination of important information to potential applicants.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement is available at www.grants.gov. The view the entire announcement go to www.grants.gov and click on the “Search Grants” tab. Then enter  “RFA-PS23-002” into the “Basic Search Criteria-Opportunity Announcement. To learn more about the CDC application process, visit grants.gov How to Apply for Grants webpage.

Executive Summary

Telehealth services such as TeleART are becoming more widely implemented; however, to date, there is a dearth of evidence of effectiveness of TeleART for antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and retention in HIV care in the U.S. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will support research on evidence of effectiveness of TeleART by implementing a hybrid effectiveness-implementation research study. The study should:

• evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced telehealth program for maintenance of HIV medication adherence among clinically stable people with HIV (PWH); identify potential implementation facilitators and challenges by evaluating the delivery of these strategies; and

• evaluate the cost and cost-effectiveness of providing telehealth to patients on ART, and evaluate program enhancements that include, but may not be limited to, biospecimen sample self-collection and the use of specialized staff such as community health workers and patient navigators.

This enhanced telehealth program should focus on groups disproportionately affected by HIV and other persons for whom social determinants of health (e.g., stigma, discrimination, poverty, and low socioeconomic status) limit their engagement in HIV care and treatment. Specifically, African American cis-gender women, and/or Black or Hispanic/Latino gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, and/or transgender women, are groups of interest. The research supported by this NOFO should align with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), and the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative “Treat” Pillar.

Purpose

The purpose of the research supported by this NOFO is to evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced telehealth program to improve adherence to ART, while also exploring the “implementability” of enhanced telehealth practice into routine care. Demonstrating evidence of effectiveness for TeleART and services supportive of TeleART in the U.S. will contribute to CDC’s Compendium of Evidence-Based Interventions and Best Practices for treatment and prevention of HIV. This research supports CDC’s pursuit of a high-impact prevention approach to reducing new HIV infections by using combinations of scientifically proven, cost-effective, and scalable interventions directed to the most vulnerable populations in the geographic areas where HIV prevalence is highest.

Application is due on 03/17/2023 and can be downloaded from https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343629 . Please direct questions to Jocelyn Patterson Mosley, MPH, MA, Scientific/Research Contact JPatterson@cdc.gov, 404-639-6437.