Ryan White Part C Outpatient EIS Program - Project Abstract 1. Summary of Request: We request a total of $321,730 of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C (RWHAP-PC) new geographic service areas (NGSA) funds to provide high-quality HIV services to 289 adult men over 25-years-old who live in five North Carolina counties not covered by our present RWHAP-PC EIS geographic catchment area: Carteret, Greene, Lenoir, Jones, and Wayne. The East Carolina University HIV Program (ECUHIVP) is the primary provider to people living with HIV (PLWH) in ENC. ECUHIVP is a "one-stop" clinic that provides HIV medical care, behavioral health services (i.e., mental health and substance use disorders), medication adherence counseling, medical case management, and support services. NGSA funds will be used to further promote linkage to care (LTC), retention in care (RIC) and viral load suppression (VLS) for this underserviced area. 2. Target Population: ECUHIVP, located in Greenville, NC, is the largest HIV provider for ENC that provides services to 28 counties. The population of ENC is predominately rural, with disproportionately high rates of HIV disease, poverty, and illiteracy. For example, from 2020-2022, 10 counties in ENC exceeded the state HIV disease newly diagnosed three-year average rate of 14.4 cases per 100,000. Seven of the 10 counties were in our RWPC grant catchment area, including Beaufort, Lenoir, Martin, Pasquotank, Pitt, Washington, and Wayne. Surveillance data indicated that Martin County had the highest rate out of 100 counties in the state. Our present RWHAP-PC funding covers 14 counties in ENC (i.e., Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, Craven, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrell, Washington). In 2023, ECUHIVP provided HIV services to 1860 PLWH, 1027 were adult men 25 years of age and older, of which 837 were Black/African American men and 289 (28%) lived in the counties that are covered by this NGSA RWHAP-PC funding. For a three-year period 2021 to 2023, we provided services to an average of 279 (2021, 270; 2022, 278; 2023, 289; respectively) adult men who live in the NGSA. In addition, 48% live below 100% - federal poverty level (FPL). We have also identified that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have lower rates of viral suppression when compared to other populations. 3. Key Services to be supported by this funding opportunity: This RWHAP-PC NGSA funding will be used to coordinate referrals and LTC, provide RIC, VLS interventions and work collaboratively with HIV prevention providers in ENC to promote HIV testing. The major objectives for the project period include the following: a. Provide comprehensive HIV heath care to men over 25 years of age b. Identify, link, and retain HIV positive adult men over 25 years of age in care c. Reduce HIV health disparities and inequities in adult Black men, especially men who have sex with men or men who have sex with men and women, by using targeted interventions to LTC, RIC and improve VLS
