BronxCare Health System’s (BronxCare’s) AIDS Program proposes to develop and implement a Comprehensive High-Impact HIV Prevention Program to increase access to and improve HIV medical care for a target population of Black/African American and Latina heterosexual adolescent and adult women age 13 years and older living in the central and south Bronx neighborhoods of New York City. These neighborhoods were selected due to this population’s high prevalence, incidence, and morbidity from HIV. The AIDS Program care team will accomplish the stated goal by: (1) conducting targeted HIV testing and integrated screenings to diagnose HIV as early as possible; (2) treating HIV quickly and effectively by linking clients to HIV medical care, including ART, medication adherence, Partner Services, and essential support services; (3) preventing new cases of HIV by increasing access to PrEP, nPEP, evidence-based risk-reduction behavioral interventions, and condoms; (4) responding quickly to HIV clusters and preventing new cases in the community through enhancing its collaborative efforts with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and (5) conducting program promotion, outreach, and recruitment to identify potential new cases of HIV and re-engage persons who are out-of-care. A Social Media Coordinator will be hired to implement recruitment and retention strategies based on social networks, the internet and other media-based approaches to promote awareness of the HIV prevention programs.
Through its proposed HIV testing, treatment, and prevention program, BronxCare expects to conduct 4,500 HIV tests, distribute over 20,000 condoms, and achieve the following client outcomes in its target population by the end of the five-year project period:
- Increase in persons who are aware of their HIV status;
- Increased access to Partner Services, essential support services, PrEP, and nPEP;
- Increased availability of condoms;
- Increased receipt of integrated screenings (including for STDs, viral hepatitis, and TB), evidence-based risk-
reduction behavioral interventions, HIV medical care and ART among persons with newly and previously diagnosed
HIV;
- Increase in medication adherence among persons with HIV;
- Increase inessential support services for HIV-negative persons; and
- Improved response to HIV transmission clusters and outbreaks