HRSA Announces Three New Funding Opportunities

The HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently issued three new Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

• Funding for Culturally Appropriate Interventions for Latinos Demo Sites and Evaluation Center (March 18 Deadline)

These announcements solicit applications for a Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) program multi-site initiative, Culturally Appropriate Interventions of Outreach, Access, and Retention among Latino(a) Populations. Both demonstration projects and an evaluation center will be funded. The initiative will take a transnational approach and applicants must propose innovative interventions targeting HIV-affected Latino/a subpopulations living in the U.S. but specific to their country of origin.

For the demonstration projects, this initiative is expected to provide funding to organizations that will design, implement, and evaluate culturally appropriate service delivery models focused on improving health outcomes among Latinos/as living with HIV disease in the U.S. that are specific to their country of origin.

The initiative will focus on Latinos/as who are who are at high risk of HIV infection or are infected with HIV but are unaware of their HIV status; are aware of their HIV infection but have never been engaged in care; are aware but have refused referral to care; or have dropped out of care.

Applicants must propose innovative interventions that identify Latinos/as at high risk or living with HIV and improve their access, timely entry, and retention in quality HIV primary care.

Applicants must have the clinical capacity to implement and sustain their interventions and propose evaluation plans for these interventions that will enhance knowledge of the disparities in health outcomes affecting Latino populations living in the United States.

Funds awarded for the demonstration sites may not be used for direct HIV care services or for duplication of existing services, but rather to fund activities designed to identify, engage, and retain HIV-positive Latinos/as in quality HIV care. Direct HIV care is funded by other sources, such as Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts A, B, C, and D.

A separate FOA was issued for an Evaluation and Technical Center (ETAC) that will be expected to fulfill three important functions for this SPNS initiative.

The ETAC will;

1) provide technical assistance to the demonstration projects over the course of the initiative;
2) conduct a rigorous multi-site evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of all interventions and the multi-site cohort as a whole; and
3) lead and coordinate the efforts for publication and dissemination of findings and lessons learned from the initiative. The ETAC will work in close consultation with the SPNS program in all aspects of the initiative, but especially in the implementation of the multi-site evaluation and dissemination.

• Funding for Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Education Programs (March 22 Deadline)

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits applications for the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) Education for Nurse Practitioners or Physician Assistants program. The intention of this funding opportunity is to establish nurse practitioner or physician assistant HIV/AIDS primary care education programs designed to train nurse practitioners or physician assistants in HIV/AIDS care and treatment.

Several important changes in the U.S. population will both increase future demand for health care and affect the adequacy of the future health care workforce to meet that demand.

These demographic changes include:

1) growth in the general population;
2) increases in the racial/ethnic diversity of the population;
3) changes in the age distribution of the population through the aging of the “baby boomer” generation; and
4) changes in the gender distribution of health care providers.

The greatest growth in demand for nurse practitioners and physician assistants has been in primary care. The demand for nurse practitioners and physician assistants is likely to continue to increase as clinical tasks are shifted from physicians to nurse practitioners and physician assistants. It is critically important that nurse practitioner and physician assistant students have the means and opportunity to receive HIV/AIDS training in order to graduate ready to provide HIV/AIDS primary care.

There is a HRSA/HAB expectation that successful programs will be financially self-sustaining by the end of the fifth year in order to ensure that the curricula created with this FOA will continue beyond the funded project period.

View a webcast of the pre-application technical assistance including audio, slides and FAQs.