HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis, and Harm Reduction Digest

January 18, 2023

NACCHO News and Announcements

NACCHO’s HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis, and Harm Reduction (HSHH) Team is Hiring!

The HSHH Team is seeking four new additions! We are looking for two Senior Program Analysts, a Program Analyst, and a Senior Program Assistant to join us. All positions are hybrid remote-in office, but candidates must be based in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area and are required to come to the DC office at least once a week.

Senior Program Analyst¸ HIV: We are seeking a motivated person with experience in managing Ryan White programs at the state or local level to fill this new position. The position will be leading our program portfolio focusing on care and treatment for persons living with HIV. Experienced persons from priority populations most impacted by HIV are strongly encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will also have experience in syndemic and equity approaches to program design, implementation, evaluation, and community engagement.

Senior Program Analyst¸ STI: We are seeking a motivated person with experience working to address sexually transmitted infections at the state or local level to fill this position. The position will be leading our program portfolio focusing on syphilis and congenital syphilis. The successful candidate will also have experience in syndemic and equity approaches to program design, implementation, evaluation, and community engagement and a strong understanding of approaches to virtual learning communities and technical assistance provision.

Program Analyst¸ HIV: We are seeking a motivated person with experience in project management and organization and experience with HIV. An understanding of how local health departments are engaged in efforts to address HIV is also appreciated.

Senior Program Assistant, HSHH/MCAH: We are seeking a motivated person with experience in project coordination, administration, communications, invoices, and contracts. An understanding of how local health departments function is also appreciated. This position will be split between the HSHH and maternal, child, and adolescent health team.

HIV, STI, and Hepatitis Resources and News

CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention Equity Initiative

Shared on behalf of the CDC

We are pleased to begin this year by sharing with you the CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) Equity Initiative. This transformational long-term strategy is designed to achieve equity within the Center’s workplace and eliminate health disparities by addressing racism and other systems of oppression that hinder our mission. The Initiative builds on decades of successful work—by NCHHSTP staff, our partners, and advocates—giving us a strong foundation of proven strategies and bold ideas to advance equity.

The Initiative includes an Implementation Plan that outlines the first steps of a long-term process to place equity squarely at the forefront of all internal and external Center activities. The Plan is organized into three focus areas with goals, objectives, and activities to support achieving the goals:

• Ensuring a workplace culture that is inclusive, collaborative, and anti-racist, and one that encourages all staff to engage in dialogue about racism and other systems of oppression.
• Establishing workplace practices and policies that further increase diversity, ensure fair and equitable opportunities for advancement, and eliminate discrimination.
• Refining our systems and processes for designing, funding, and evaluating research, programs, policy, and partnerships to ensure they are intentionally, systematically, and consistently focused on addressing the social and structural causes of health disparities.

Additional information about the Initiative, the Implementation Plan, and work completed to-date is now online. We thank you for your ongoing efforts to promote equity and eliminate disparities in the diseases and infections addressed by NCHHSTP and look forward to our continued collaborations on this vital work.

Free Continuing Education Opportunities

The University of Washington (UW) Infectious Diseases Education & Assessment (IDEA) program recently launched the second edition of the free Hepatitis B Online  curricula which includes six updated lessons on hepatitis B virus epidemiology, immunization, initial treatment regimen, perinatal transmission, reactivation, and hepatocellular carcinoma screening. UW will launch four additional new lessons in early 2023. Healthcare providers and others can earn free CME, CNE and CE.

Clinical Resources for Healthcare Professionals

Mini-lecture series with expert speakers explaining how to interpret hepatitis B serologies and discussing clinical scenarios where one might encounter an isolated hepatitis B core antibody and its relevance in different settings.

Clinical guidance that provides simplified, current, and readily accessible guidance related to prevention, diagnosis, and management of hepatitis B virus infection, including hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance.

RFP for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Service Providers

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is now available to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) service providers for a Special Programs of National Significance (SPNS) project titled Supporting Replication (SURE) of Housing Interventions. It includes funding for up to 10 implementation sites that will implement and adapt housing-related intervention strategies for three priority populations of people with HIV experiencing unstable housing. The purpose of the SURE Housing initiative is to implement and adapt housing-related intervention strategies for three priority populations of people with HIV experiencing unstable housing, who often have the highest HIV-related disparities:

1) people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+);

2) youth and young adults (aged 18-24); and

3) people who have been justice-involved (defined as any person who is engaged at any point along the continuum of the criminal justice system as a defendant including arrest, incarceration, and community supervision).

The goal of this initiative is to promote the replication of effective housing interventions in the RWHAP to decrease health and housing disparities and improve health outcomes along the HIV care continuum.  This initiative will engage and retain people with HIV experiencing unstable housing in HIV medical care and support services by addressing their housing and behavioral health needs, as needed.

Sites selected will be awarded up to $250,000 per funding year for up to ten implementation sites. Sites will be funded from May 1, 2023 – July 31, 2026. The implementation sites will also participate in a multi-site evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the interventions’ implementation and adaptation.

Additional information can be found in the Request for Proposals.

Application Details

Current RWHAP service providers are eligible to apply. Applications are due no later than 11:59pm ET on February 15, 2023.

Have questions? Contact us at [email protected]

News to Note

HIV Prevention: Why Aren’t More Heterosexual People Using PrEP?