Thursday, March 13, 2025
3/13/2025
Iowa is an agricultural state, with a land area of 55,869 square miles. Iowa comprises 99 counties with an estimated 2022 population of 3,199,693 persons. Six counties (Dallas, Dubuque, Pottawattamie, Story, Warren, and Woodbury) have between 50,000 and 120,000 people, and five counties (Black Hawk, Linn, Johnson, Polk and Scott) have more than 120,000 people. Iowa’s population has shifted over the past ten years from rural to urban centers with the most significant growth occurring in and around the capital of Des Moines and in the Interstate-380 corridor between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. The features of Iowa’s HIV epidemic that are most significant for the Ryan White Part B Program are the emerging needs of the black/African American population and other communities of color, the impact of comorbidities and the complexity of providing care, and access to health care due to a unique population distribution issue and the changing landscape of the health delivery system. These challenges are detailed in this application. As of December 31, 2023, there were 3,411 Iowans who had been diagnosed with HIV and were living in the state. In 2023, there were 139 Iowans diagnosed with HIV. This is 20% higher than the average number of people diagnosed with HIV over the last 10 years. (116) and 16% higher than the number of Iowans diagnosed in 2022 (120). This is also the highest number of Iowans diagnosed with HIV in Iowa since the epidemic started.. The high number of diagnoses in 2023 was a sign that people who are at risk for HIV are being reached and getting tested after the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on testing. When looking at HIV prevalence in Iowa regardless of where diagnosis occurred, the actual number of persons living with diagnosed HIV disease in Iowa at the end of 2023 was 3,411, a prevalence rate of 106 per 100,000 persons. When the number is adjusted for our estimated percentage of undiagnosed persons in Iowa (13%), there may ha ve been as many as 3,921 Iowans living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2023, with an estimated 510 persons undiagnosed. Since Iowa undertook an integrated jurisdictional planning process in early 2012, the care continuum has been used as a framework to guide activities in the HIV Program (which consists of HIV prevention, care and treatment, and surveillance). The HIV treatment continuum provides a useful framework for assessing the health system and strategically targeting limited resources. Iowa’s HIV program continues to “shore up” the core components of programming such as case-finding, client core and support services, and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (known as the Benefits and Drug Assistance Program in Iowa as of 2023). Initiatives exist to increase testing in rural areas, including for STI’s in response to an alarming increase in syphilis, reduce case manager turnover, and ensure less stress for clients when navigating to a “benefit home.” In addition, Iowa has prioritized examining and addressing the role of social determinants of health (SDOH) on the epidemic by taking a syndemic, trauma informed, and healing centered approach.
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).