Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - The Petersen HIV Clinics (PHC) at the University of Arizona (UA) provides outpatient specialty HIV care and prevention services to over 1200 patients in southern Arizona. Services are provided at two clinic locations in the Banner University Medical Center (BUMC) network. Multidisciplinary teams comprised of infectious disease specialists, EIS specialists, pharmacists, coordinators, and case managers ensure patients receive quality, integrated medical care, medication, treatment adherence, and support services. PHC’s team is composed of individuals with a variety of backgrounds reflecting the patient population in the service area. PHC’s current target populations are Black/African American and Hispanic men who have sex with men, youth aged 18-25, and transgender individuals. In addition, PHC has identified health disparities among patients reporting behavioral health (BH) conditions at intake and patients in rural areas. These populations not only experience disparities in their HIV care, but also their BH care. Behavioral health needs, including substance use (SU) disorders, are prevalent among persons with HIV (PWH) and present significant barriers to treatment adherence and retention in HIV care. Of 675 patient intakes in the past 2 years, 47% (317) indicated a current mental health condition and 34% (108) requested a referral to BH services. Twenty percent (140) indicated current SU, but only twelve requested a referral for services. Among active patients in the same period, PHC made 254 referrals to BH services resulting in only 53 (20%) appointments with a BH specialist. These numbers illustrate the challenges of identifying successful referral systems and making the right connections for patients to engage in sustained BH treatment services. PHC has taken preliminary steps towards improving BH referral services at our clinics. In 2021-2022, staff participated in the Center for Quality Improvement and Innovation BH collaborative project, building knowledge around identifying gaps, creating measurable goals, and involving PWH in our quality improvement projects. PHC established closer working relationships with our existing BH partners and mapped our BH referral workflow. In 2022-2023, a BH workgroup was established to review policies, procedures, and available program data to identify areas for improvement and expansion of our current BH activities. The review identified the need for personnel dedicated to developing and implementing BH service goals. In 2023, PHC promoted a Clinical Coordinator to a position as Wellness Program Manager. This person has 20+ years’ experience in HIV and is poised to carry out our planned BH initiatives. PHC aims to increase and improve patients’ access to BH services by: 1. Strengthening current BH screening tools and implementing a status neutral approach to conducting BH screenings at key service points. 2. Expanding partnerships with BH agencies in the service area (6 counties) to promote health equity and coordination of patients’ HIV and BH care. 3. Producing resource guides for PHC staff and patients that identify BH support services. 4. Expanding data collection for metrics and reporting to closely follow BH referrals within the HIV continuum of care resulting in improved retention and viral suppression.
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).