Demonstration Projects for Comprehensive and Integrated HIV Care, Treatment, Prevention and Essential Support Service Models for Women in the South

In the United States, social and structural determinants of health (SDOH) are associated with disparities in HIV infection among women. These SDOH include the five National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) quality of life indicators: self-reported good or better health, unmet need for mental health services, employment, hunger/food insecurity, and homelessness and unstable housing. Organizations will be funded to offer integrated care service models that provide HIV care and treatment and other health care and essential support services to women with HIV (WWH) through Community and Clinic Collaboratives (CCCs). CCCs will be comprised of clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and local and state health departments (HDs) serving women in areas in the South with high HIV disease burden. CCCs will screen, navigate and link WWH to comprehensive and integrated health services including chronic disease care, pre-and post-natal care, primary care, pediatric care, and aging-related services. Recipients will be funded to implement four strategies: (1) Offer comprehensive and integrated models of care that provide HIV care and treatment and other health care services to WWH through CCCs; (2) Offer whole person health screening, navigation and linkage to STI, behavioral health (mental health and substance use disorders) and other subsistence and essential support services, as needed, to WWH and referrals for screening, navigation and linkage services for women at risk for HIV via CCCs; (3) Provide services that are culturally and linguistically responsive for women and address stigma and medical mistrust; and (4) Participate in a national learning collaborative to share best practices and lessons learned for comprehensive HIV and other services for WWH. Key outcomes of the project include an increased number of WWH who initiate rapid ART, are virally suppressed, and have met needs for services for mental health and substance use disorders and other essential support services.