Project Abstract: MIDATLANTIC AIDS EDUCATION & TRAINING CENTER University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health Description: The University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health (SPH), Department of Infectious Diseases is the applicant and will provide oversight of planning, programs, budgets, evaluation, and performance monitoring for the project and partners. It is a dynamic and productive regional team of clinicians, educators, and capacity building experts having demonstrated high-quality education, TA, capacity building and impact evaluation. The team has expertise in HIV and related conditions and co-morbidities to educate HCPs and HP school faculty and strong relationships with Ryan White programs, health depts, FQHCs, and other services and programs within USPHS Region 3. Targeted Population: Physicians, dentists, nurses, nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, social workers, case managers, allied health, navigators, community health workers, faculty of health professions schools and other team members to assure access to the full continuum of services for persons with HIV to improve access, outcomes and reduce disparities. Goals and Milestones: Will provide (Based on NHAS, Healthy People 2025, HRSA priorities) 1. Foundations of HIV provide training to novice/less experienced clinicians and team members. 2. Interprofessional education project (IPE) and partner with HP schools to train HP faculty and through them, their students for workforce development. 3. Practice transformation intervention to specific clinics to improve care by integrating principles of patient centered medical homes to increase access, reduce disparities, and quality. 4. Capacity for Expertise Expansion to improve clinical competencies, structures and policies through interventions improve practice of clinicians, clinics, systems with a focus on FQHCs, Ryan White, HBCUs, health depts. to improve quality, effi
ciency, coordination, and cost reduction. 5. Through the MAI project provide training and TA to build capacity and competencies of minority and minority serving HPs to improve quality and access. 6. Through EHE implement approaches to increase HIV/HepC/STI case finding, PrEP, and facilitate linkage to care/treatment in EHE jurisdictions. 7. Identify and disseminate models of care for practices and policies that improve patient outcomes for the continuum of HIV care. 8. Engage in collaborative partnerships with HRSA, evaluation contractor, NCCC, NCRC and other AETCs for curricula, assessment, and evaluation. Overview of Program Plan: The approach aims to address NOFO requirements and regional unmet needs to address capacity building for clinicians and other care team members, clinics, and systems to improve the care continuum through training, TA and dissemination of HRSA, CDC guidelines for HIV/Hep C and co-morbidities, SPNS models, clinical performance measures, CQI, service integration and coordination. The program supports knowledge and practice acquisition with interactive training; preceptorships; decision-support; TA for co-management, evidenced-based approaches to improve competencies for prevention, treatment, medical co-morbidities; intervention with special populations, psychosocial co-morbidities; dissemination of national curricula, TA for capacity building; distance-based training to reach rural/urban areas; tailoring training for audience, collaborate with evaluation contractor (metrics), NCCC (TA), NQC (CQI), NCRC (dissemination), HRSA, HAB and USPHS Region 3 to address quality and service gaps. Project Evaluation: All components will be evaluated to track processes, outcomes in collaboration with HRSA, using existing and new methods/instruments to capture the impact and outcomes of all project components for clinicians, clinics, and systems by measuring quality, reach, engagement, best practices, coordination, practice change, and clinical outc
omes.