Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
Transgender Comprehensive High Impact Prevention Project (T-CHIP) - Alabama (AL)’s Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the setting for the proposed project, experiences a disproportionate burden of the state’s HIV epidemic within its seven counties (Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, and Walker), particularly within its urban center, Birmingham, which is located in Jefferson County. In fact, Jefferson County consistently has the highest number of new HIV diagnoses among all of AL’s eight public health districts. While the State of Alabama does not collect or publish epidemiological data on the scope of HIV among the transgender (trans) population (to date, only a binary male/female gender marker is collected), data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate that young transgender (YTG) people of color living in the US South represent the group of people at highest risk for HIV acquisition. Extant research also illustrates that PrEP use in the South is extremely low among YTG persons of color. Therefore, this project, Transgender Comprehensive High Impact Prevention Project (T-CHIP), aims to develop a coordinated community response to end the HIV epidemic aligned with a status neutral approach to address the disproportionately high HIV incidence rate among YTG persons of color, ages 13-34, and their partners, through culturally competent, evidence-based, and data-driven comprehensive HIV prevention and operational programs. Led by Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO), the oldest HIV service organization in Alabama, T-CHIP has multiple short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals that align with a status-neutral approach. The following short term outcomes and corresponding goals will be evaluated during the project performance period: (1) increasing HIV testing among YTG persons of color and their partners to 500 tests per year; (2) increasing HIV diagnoses among YTG persons of color and their partners unaware of their status to 8 YTG persons of color and their partners per year (1.5% of n=500); (3) increasing access to prevention and essential support services among YTG persons of color and their partners to at least 90%; (4) increasing the percentage of integrated HIV testing events in which clients are able to receive STD tests events that specifically target YTG persons of color and their partners (including chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea) by 50% annually, thereby providing integrated screening to about 25 YTG persons of color and their partners per testing event (~500 total/year); (5) increasing access to condoms among YTG persons of color and their partners (10,000 per year); (6) increasing screenings, referrals, and linkage to PrEP among YTG persons of color and their partners such that at least 90% of YTG persons of color and their partners at increased risk for acquiring HIV are referred to or provided PrEP; (7) increasing linkage to HIV care among YTG persons of color and their partners with newly diagnosed HIV within 30 days of diagnosis by linking a minimum of 90% of 8 YTG persons of color and their partners per year; (8) increasing re-engagement to HIV care among YTG persons of color and their partners who are previously diagnosed, out of care within 30 days of program contact by linking a minimum of 90% of 9 previous diagnoses per year; (9) increasing access to Partner Services among YTG persons of color and their partners with newly diagnosed HIV or qualifying STI such that 100% are referred to Partner Services within 30 days, in accordance with state and local regulations; and (10) increasing access to appropriate medication adherence services among YTG persons of color and their partners such that at least 90% receive the Stay Connected intervention.
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).