San Francisco Community Health Center (SFCHC) - a community-centered federally qualified health center (FQHC) with robust peer outreach, STD testing and treatment, and medical and behavioral health services - requests funding through the CDC CARS Program to implement TransHOPE (Transgender Health Outreach, Promotion, and Engagement) - an innovative, peer-based initiative that will identify new approaches to building community, supporting health and wellness, and decreasing disparities in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young transgender women ages 18-34 living in San Francisco, California. Our program will train and empower a diverse 8-member Community Advisory Board comprised exclusively of young trans women who represent the full spectrum of local young trans women subgroups disproportionately affected by STDs in our region. In program year 1, the CAB will conduct a wide-ranging community needs assessment and collaborative planning process to identify and prioritize key social determinants of health impacting trans STD rates and to develop innovative approaches and strategies to address these issues which will be implemented in program years 2 and 3. The process will include the engagement of a wide range of public and private sector partners to assist in identifying needs and developing new, consumer-focused strategies to increase communication and interaction, enhance mutual support and engagement, and reduce STD rates and disparities among young trans women in San Francisco. Key first year objectives of the project include: a) conducting a wide-ranging community needs assessment process that draws upon multiple sources to identify disparities and prioritize social determinants of health (SDOH) within the population of focus; b) designing a comprehensive evaluation and performance measurement plan for the initiative that includes a revised logic model, time-phased project objectives, outcomes, indicators, and deliverables, and pro
ject-specific data entry, collection, analysis, and reporting procedures; and c) producing a comprehensive program plan to reduce disparities and address SODH within the population of focus, including outreach strategies, SMART objectives and deliverables, communication strategies, and utilization of multi-sectoral partnerships to reduce HIV, STDs, and hepatitis while building new models to support community wellness. The program will be overseen by a full-time Project Manager who will be a transgender woman with extensive knowledge of the SF trans community; lived experience of economic hardship, discrimination, and marginalization; and demonstrated project management and group leadership experience and skills. The Manger will oversee all day-to-day aspects of the TransHOPE initiative, including recruitment and training of CAB members; development of individual CAB member agreements; planning and co-facilitation of CAB meetings and retreats; and development and maintenance of a master project calendar that includes specific targets, milestones, and deliverables for the first project year. The Manager will be assisted by a 10%-time Project Director who will provide general oversight and supervision for the Project Manager while serving as the key point of contact for the CDC. Needs assessment and evaluation support will be provided by HTA Consulting, which will provide support in conducting initial focus groups and key informant interview and in developing project data collection, reporting, and analysis processes.
