U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Seek, Test, Treat and Retain For Youth and Young Adults Living with or at High Risk for Acquiring HIV

The purpose of the program is to examine seek, test, treat and retain approaches among youth and young adults (ages 13-25) who are at high risk for HIV acquisition or have already acquired HIV. Applications should incorporate substance use into study aims; objectives should address substance use prevention, screening, and/or treatment in ways that facilitate use of HIV prevention and treatment services. Youth are the target of this program because they demonstrate lower levels of screening and engagement across the HIV continuum of care and HIV+ youth are less likely to achieve viral suppression than those at older ages. These disparities are evident in U.S. and foreign populations. The developmental, structural, and systemic factors related to serving youth need to be clearly incorporated into study aims, rather than simple incremental refocusing of existing interventions to younger people. Examples of study areas appropriate for this program include:

• Develop and test sustainable methods for increasing the uptake of HIV screening among vulnerable, hard-to-reach youth, with attention to enabling periodic testing over time, and assuring linkage to HIV care.
• Develop and test new approaches to integrate HIV screening in the context of screening, prevention, and access to treatment for substance use services that insure linkage to HIV care.
• Develop and test service delivery models for screening and linkage or linkage/reentry and retaining people in care that address comorbid conditions that may contribute to poor linkage or retention, or inhibit viral suppression. Substance use comorbidities and their consequences such as viral hepatitis should be addressed in ways that affect linkage and adherence to HIV care; approaches more sustainable and systemic than case management and navigation should be considered.
• Develop and test approaches for providing transition for HIV+ youth from pediatric or adolescent health settings to those serving adults, with evidence of sustained retention in adult care systems.
• Develop and test ways to use electronic health records, surveillance data and other technology tools to build systems for successful linkage and retention in care across providers, with attention to re-engaging youth previously lost to care. Attention to patient confidentiality and engagement of participating clinics and organizations would be essential.
• Develop and test ways to use electronic health records, surveillance data and other technology tools to build systems for enabling periodic HIV testing in uninfected youth. Attention to patient confidentiality and engagement of participating clinics and organizations will be essential.
• Develop and test interventions that optimize use of grassroots systems such as community health workers or peer outreach networks, or natural helping networks to increase HIV testing, linkage, and or retention in care for high risk youth.
• Systemic interventions that integrate CBOs and NGOs that provide outreach to high risk populations with organized health care systems to increase HIV testing, linkage, and or retention in care for high risk youth.
• Policy interventions that focus on integrating novel reimbursement and health care financing approaches including ACA provisions to improve the integration of HIV services such as HIV screening and care with substance use services that may affect uptake of HIV screening and treatment adherence including evidence-based substance use prevention.

Amount: Approximately $3,000,000 is available to fund 3-5 awards.

Eligibility: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; small businesses; city or township governments; county governments; nonprofit organizations; independent school districts Native American tribal governments; State governments; for profit organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; special district governments; private institutions of higher education.

Link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-16-010.html

Note: A letter of intent is due by February 2, 2016.

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