Month: December 2022

SPNS Supporting Replication (SURE) of Housing Interventions Request For Proposal (RFP)

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is now available to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) service providers for a Special Project of National Significance (SPNS) program titled Supporting Replication (SURE) of Housing Interventions. It includes funding for up to 10 implementation sites that will implement and adapt housing-related intervention strategies for three priority populations of people with HIV experiencing unstable housing.

The purpose of the SURE Housing initiative is to implement and adapt housing-related intervention strategies for three priority populations of people with HIV experiencing unstable housing, who often have the highest HIV-related disparities:

1) people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+);
2) youth and young adults (aged 18-24); and
3) people who have been justice-involved (defined as any person who is engaged at any point along the continuum of the criminal justice system as a defendant including arrest, incarceration, and community supervision).

The goal of this initiative is to promote the replication of effective housing interventions in the RWHAP to decrease health and housing disparities and improve health outcomes along the HIV care continuum.  This initiative will engage and retain people with HIV experiencing unstable housing in HIV medical care and support services by addressing their housing and behavioral health needs, as needed.

Serving as the Implementation and Technical Assistance Provider, the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), in partnership with Collaborative Solutions, Inc (CSI), will select, issue, and monitor sub-awards of up to $250,000 per funding year for up to ten implementation sites. Sites will be funded from May 1, 2023 – July 31, 2026. CSH and CSI will provide the sites with technical assistance (TA) for implementing and adapting these interventions.

The implementation sites will also participate in a multi-site evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the interventions’ implementation and adaptation. The implementation of housing-related interventions at each site will be evaluated by the Evaluation Provider comprised of Boston University, the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Additional information can be found in the Request for Proposals.

Application Details

Current RWHAP service providers are eligible to apply. Applications are due no later than 11:59pm ET on February 15, 2023. To learn more about this opportunity, register here for a live webinar taking place on January 10, 2023 at 3PM Eastern.

For more information, contact HRSA.TA@CSH.ORG.

Announcement: ViiV Healthcare HIV Medications to be Discontinued as of January 1, 2024

Last year, ViiV Healthcare (“ViiV”) released a letter notifying health care providers

that the following products will be discontinued in the United States, and will no longer be distributed by ViiV as of January 1, 2024:

• Lexiva (fosamprenavir) 700 mg Tablets and 50 mg/ml Oral Suspension
• Trizivir (abacavir/lamivudine/zidovudine) 300 mg/150 mg/300 mg Tablets
• Selzentry (maraviroc) 25 mg Tablets and 75 mg Tablets
• Tivicay (dolutegravir) 10 mg Tablets and 25 mg Tablets
• Ziagen (abacavir) 300 mg Tablets
• Combivir (lamivudine/zidovudine) 150 mg/300 mg Tablets
• Epzicom (abacavir/lamivudine) 600 mg/300 mg Tablets

In addition, in the letter ViiV stated it would no longer accept new Patient Assistance Program (PAP) applications for the products listed above after 07/01/22.

For any questions or concerns, please contact the ViiV Healthcare Customer Response Center at 1-877-844-8872.

Invitation to Participate: HIV Provider Training to Address Medical Mistrust

Who should participate?

• HIV care providers (MD, DO, NP, PA) who primarily work with Black and Latinx patients

What does participation involve?

• Virtual training (total 4 hours) conducted by California Prevention Training Center
• Phone interview (45 min) to provide feedback that will be used to improve the training
• $200 gift card will be provided

Who is conducting this research?

• A team from RAND Corporation, California Prevention Training Center, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, in partnership with members of the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS)

How can I participate?

Fill out this Google Form for Next Steps

For more information, please contact Bella González

Cell: (703)-413-1100 x5793

Email: igonzale@rand.org 

Read an official message from the RAND Corporation below:

“We are a team of researchers, HIV care providers, and provider training experts from the RAND Corporation, California Prevention Training Center, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. We are conducting a study to develop and pilot test an HIV care provider training to understand and address the impact of stigma and medical mistrust experienced by Black and Latinx consumers/patients. This research is funded by the National Institute of Health, and the study protocol has been approved by RAND’s Institutional Review Board.

If you are an HIV care providers (e.g., physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant) who works with a substantial number of Black and Latinx HIV care consumers or patients, we would like to invite you to participate in our study and provide feedback to improve this training. The tentative dates are in mid-January 2023 (e.g., potentially during the week of 1/9) and the participation would be remote/virtual. The total time would be about 4 hours for the virtual training (via Zoom) and there will be a phone interview (45-60 min) to provide qualitative feedback and suggestions for improvement. We may schedule a long session of 4 hours or break it up into two sessions, whichever would be most convenient/manageable. Your feedback would be used to refine and improve this provider training. You will be compensated $200 for participating in the training and interview. The training will be conducted by expert trainers from California Prevention Training Center; the interview will be conducted by RAND researchers.

Your participation in the training session(s) and interview are completely voluntary. We will not identify you in any way in any of our research presentations, papers, or reports. The information you provide to us during your participation will be kept confidential. If you are interested in participating, our research staff contacting you will review this information with you at the beginning of the training and interview and can answer any questions that you have at those times.

Please enter your contact information in this Google Form here if you are interested in participating in this study. If so, we will work with you to identify a convenient time to proceed with the next steps. Please feel free to contact us to ask any questions you may have about any aspects of this study. Our study contact is Dr. Lu Dong (ldong@rand.org, 310-486-1847).

Thank you for helping with this important project.”

Cross-posted from HIV.gov

Each year, HIV.gov recognizes National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) to help raise awareness about the importance of flu vaccination for the HIV community. Observed December 5–9 this year, NIVW is a nationwide call to action to encourage everyone 6 months and older to get their annual flu shot, especially young children and others at higher risk. The more people vaccinated against flu, the more people are protected from flu.

Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications, including young children. Millions of children get sick with flu every year, and thousands will be hospitalized. Since flu viruses are constantly changing and protection from vaccination decreases over time, getting a flu vaccine every year is the best way to prevent flu. Flu vaccines are the only vaccines that protect against flu and are proven to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death.

Vaccination in December or later is still beneficial, particularly as flu activity is high and continues to increase across the country. Vaccines are particularly important for people who are most vulnerable to developing serious flu complications, including people with HIV—especially those with very low CD4 counts or who are not on treatment—and other health conditions. In fact, in past flu seasons, 9 out of 10 adults hospitalized for flu had at least one underlying medical condition.

Many Vaccine Options

For the 2022–2023 season, CDC recommends use of any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine. These include:

• Injectable flu vaccines, or flu shots. These include:
  • Flu shots that are made with inactivated viruses.
  • One flu shot that is made without influenza viruses.
• A live attenuated influenza vaccine, which is given by nasal spray. (Note: People with HIV should receive the flu shot rather than the nasal spray.)

There are many flu vaccine options, and CDC does not recommend any one vaccine over another. Different vaccines are approved for different groups of people.

• Some flu shots are approved for use in children as young as 6 months old and others are approved for use in adults 65 years and older.
• Flu shots also are recommended for pregnant people and people with certain chronic health conditions.
• The nasal spray flu vaccine is approved for people from age 2 to 49 who are not pregnant. People who are pregnant and people with certain medical conditions should not receive the nasal spray flu vaccine.

Getting a flu vaccine is the best way for everyone to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu. Join the nationwide call to action with resources, messages, and activities from CDC’s Digital Media Toolkit and join the conversation online with #FightFlu.

Cross-posted from HIV.gov

On World AIDS Day, many of our federal partner agencies highlighted new resources and key messages. We believe you’d benefit from knowing what our colleagues shared. Read to learn more about these new resources and key messages and see our roundup of World AIDS Day blogs from HIV.gov at the end.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – HIV/AIDS Bureau

HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recognized World AIDS Day with a commemoration event, created a social media thread (#HRSAHonorsWAD), and shared new 2021 data, which shows a recording-breaking 89.7% (PDF, 636KB) of HRSA RWHAP clients are virally suppressed. Read the letter to RWHAP Colleagues here and see a video from Associate Administrator Laura Cheever here.

Department of Justice

On World AIDS Day, the Department’s Civil Rights Division reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights of people with HIV and AIDS via civil rights laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read the full statement here in which the Department highlights these efforts.

HUD Deputy Secretary Statement

Adrianne Todman, Deputy Secretary at HUD, released a statement in recognition of World AIDS Day which highlights the importance the role housing plays in the health of those with HIV and AIDS. The statement details the actions HUD has taken to improve the lives of this community, including actions in support of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy such as ensuring racial and LGBTQ+ equity in access to HOPWA housing and services. Read the full statement here.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)

As the Department’s HOPWA program celebrates its 30^th anniversary and its important work utilizing housing as a structural intervention to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, its World AIDS Day statement highlights the importance of housing in improving health outcomes for people with HIV and in ending the epidemic* (see below). Read the full statement here.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

In its World AIDS Day statement, the Administration reaffirmed its commitment to helping end the HIV epidemic in the United States by reaching those communities disproportionately affected by HIV through equity and innovation. The statement details SAMHSA’s grant programs for people at risk for and with HIV and centering equity within their HIV response. Read the full statement here.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

The Office’s World AIDS Day statement emphasizes efforts to advance health equity and social determinants of health using information technology (IT). The statement also explores health IT standards to support interoperable health information exchange across HIV care settings. Read the full statement here.

National Institutes of Health – Office of AIDS Research

The World AIDS Day virtual event, “Progress and Promise in HIV Research” featured federal leaders and distinguished guests from various sectors, including the broader HIV research community. Admiral Rachel L. Levine, M.D., the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, delivered opening remarks, and the diversity of the event’s panelists illustrated work to enhance public-private partnerships and the commitment to a whole-of-society approach to end the HIV epidemic. Read more about the event here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

*Ending the HIV epidemic in the United States requires implementing integrated solutions that address the comprehensive health, social services, and housing needs of people with HIV and people who could benefit from HIV prevention. This issue brief highlights how CDC, other federal agencies, and community partners are collaborating to equitably address housing and HIV care needs. Read the brief here.