Thursday, December 26, 2024
12/26/2024
The Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) Infectious Disease Practice (IDP) submits this application request for program funds of $948,035 annually under the HRSA Ryan White Part C Competing Continuation. Funding provided by this project will help to support the goal of the IDP to provide comprehensive HIV care for the city of Newark and the surrounding areas. Greater Newark is an area disproportionately impacted by HIV, with a prevalence rate of 1.9% compared to 0.7% in the Newark Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA) and 0.4% in the state of New Jersey. Moreover, the non-Hispanic Black community in Newark faces HIV disparities, with a prevalence nearly eight times that observed for the rest of New Jersey, and cisgender women are also disproportionately affected compared to the rest of the EMA. The patient population of PWH at the IDP reflects similar demographics of PWH in Newark, with 73% of the patients identifying as Black/African American, 21% as Hispanic, 40% cisgender women, 4% transgender, and 64% > 45 years. Two of the 48 high HIV prevalence counties identified by the federal End the HIV Epidemic initiative are in the IDP catchment area—Essex and Hudson counties. While we have been able to sustain a viral suppression (VS) rate of >80% over the past several years, emerging challenges have disrupted the social safety nets in place to support our patients, causing us to evolve the care we provide to better address disparities in access to care. Similar to our previous applications, priority patient populations include youth, women, gender and sexual minorities, patients with mental health (MH) and/or substance use disorder (SUD), patients aging with HIV, and racial/ethnic minorities. The IDP has adapted to new challenges by implementing innovative programs—including telehealth, wrap-around services tailored to our patient population, and a community engagement program. Continued support for these services is essential for PWH in Newa rk as we continue to work to improve health outcomes across the HIV care continuum. This proposal outlines how continued funding to support primary medical care with multidisciplinary specialty services can help us to achieve this goal. Critical to this approach is the role of support services in providing coordination of care—including medical case management, MH and SUD counseling and referrals, transportation, support groups, peer support, and stakeholder engagement The objectives of this project align to improve outcomes across the HIV care continuum—specifically focusing on linkage to care, retention, and VS as key elements to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).