Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Community-Based Approaches to Reducing STDs (CARS) - Since 1969, AltaMed has addressed the needs of medically disenfranchised Latinx in East Los Angeles. AltaMed has grown to become the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in California serving over 245,000 patients each year and a prominent and preferred HIV services provider targeting Latinx MSM. AltaMed offers a full continuum of integrated HIV prevention and care services and is a current awardee of CDC’s high-impact HIV prevention (HIP) programs, PS22-2203 targeting young MSM of color and their partners and PS21-2102 comprehensive HIP for CBOs, both focusing on Latinx MSM in Los Angeles County, the population experiencing the highest local disease burden. In particular, AltaMed’s has been leveling tailored HIP outreach and engagement strategies within ethnic, social, and other sub- or affinity groups within the young Latinx MSM community 13-29 years of age: (1) Bear/ Cub subculture; (2) Tea Party Community; (3) Drag Queen subculture; (4) Unhoused/ unstably housed; (5) Indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico; (6) Central American/ El Salvador immigrant community; and (7) Queer, Latinx punk rock scene. Proposed PS23-2306 activities will amplify this strategy and continue specific targeting within Latinx MSM subcommunities in order to also reduce STD disparities and promote general personal health, advance community health, and improve personal behavior and practices among a population identified as a priority in the Los Angeles County Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan 2022-2026. AltaMed will further empower leaders and influencers within these Latinx MSM subgroups to shape community-engaged and -designed STD intervention strategies that will address social determinants of health (SDoH) and promote sexual health. Goals of the CARS program include: • Decrease risky sexual behavior among disproportionately affected groups; • Decrease STD disparities among disproportionately affected groups; • Increase quality and accessibility to STD prevention services; and • Decrease effect of social issues related to STD transmission. Towards these ends, AltaMed will engage its priority population-reflective Community Advisory Board (CAB) to help design existing evidence-based strategies to bridge STD disparities gaps and promote personal health, community wellness, and personal health behavior and practices in Latinx MSM subpopulations. Activities will be conducted in five strategy areas: (1) Community Engagement, (2) Identification & Implementation of Systems & Environmental Strategies, (3) Development of Multi-Sectoral Partnerships, (4) Communication, and (5) Evaluation/ Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Efforts also will develop a roadmap for and help advance internal changes to reduce structural or systems barriers that have hampered full integration and access to timely STI/STD prevention and testing into AltaMed’s community-based HIV prevention programming.
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).