HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis, and Harm Reduction Digest
May 24, 2023
NACCHO News and Announcements
Southern Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) Meet and Greets Request for Proposals
Applications due at 5 pm E.S.T. on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. NACCHO will award up to $120,000 to hire a regional HIV/AIDS advocacy organization as a contractor to leverage existing relationships, reputation, and community trust to co-host and recruit participant organizations for the six southern CBO Meet and Greets. The selected contractor will be awarded a fixed-price contract and will receive reimbursement for completing deliverables outlined in the project scope of work. Click here for more information.
Check your Stigma at the Door Webinar
Join the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for a webinar, Check Your Stigma at the Door, on Thursday, June 1st, 2023, at 1:30pm EST. During the webinar, Dr. Ina Park will explore and present on how history and culture of HIV/STIs impacts our perception and attitudes towards HIV/STIs today. She will also discuss how stigma impacts HIV/STI prevention and care, and the Mpox outbreak response, and how de-stigmatization is important to reach vulnerable communities. Dr. Park has more than two decades of experience speaking on HIV/STI topics and is well versed in using storytelling and humor to bring these topics to life! It is the hope that participants will learn new and exciting ways to have similar conversations with colleagues and patients.
Registration Link: Webinar Registration - Zoom
Opioid Settlements, Harm Reduction, and Leveraging Local Health Department Expertise: Part 2
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) in partnership with Community Education Group (CEG) is hosting Part 2 of a 3-part webinar series on how local health departments and their community partners can leverage opioid settlement funds to support evidence-based syndemic strategies to reduce harms associated with opioid use and other drugs vulnerable to opioid contamination.
Please join us on Tuesday, June 6th, 2-3pm ET for a deeper dive allowable expenses including model practices, creative ideas for using funds, and how to prioritize initiatives based on available funds.
Links to register for upcoming Opioid Settlement webinars and office hours:
- Part Two Webinar- Tuesday, June 6th, 2-3pm https://naccho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D2dUMemMS3qWQ84lBjMivg
- Office Hours- Tuesday, June 20th, 2-3pm https://naccho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0j6DbfDxT9aCg9gQhSqAmw
- Part Three Webinar- Thursday, July 6th, 2-3pm https://naccho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X-AP76KNTq2JkT7fzTc85g
- Office Hours- Tuesday, July 18th 2-3pm https://naccho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9i7Yyp4bSpevI42H64WmiQ
HIV, STI, and Hepatitis Resources and News
RWHAP Recommends Inclusion of Buprenorphine and Naloxone in ADAP Formularies
HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) recipients have a key role in providing access to medications for people with HIV and meeting the goals of ending the HIV epidemic. While most health insurance policies cover medications for substance use disorder (SUD), also referred to as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), including buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) and naloxone for opioid use prevention, people with HIV who are uninsured or underinsured may not have access to these medications.
Given the important role of opioid treatment in comprehensive HIV care, when feasible, HRSA recommends RWHAP ADAPs include medications for SUDs, including buprenorphine, and naloxone for opioid overdose prevention, on their formularies. On May 11, HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau released a program letter encouraging RWHAP ADAP recipients to include medications for SUDs, including buprenorphine for OUD, and naloxone for opioid overdose prevention, on ADAP formularies.
To access the new letter, visit: https://ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/ryanwhite/grants/rwhap-partb-aids-drug-assistance.pdf.
New e-Learning Course: Introduction to Promoting PrEP Through Community-Led Campaigns
HealthHIV announces a new self-paced e-learning course, Introduction to Promoting PrEP Through Community-Led Campaigns. This course was created to provide health department staff, community-based organization staff, and other public health professionals with knowledge and skills related to designing, creating, and implementing a PrEP promotional campaign.
Learners will be able to understand the tasks involved in collecting and analyzing data on campaign audiences and to identify steps to include in a community-informed strategic plan. Learners also will be able to highlight parts of the design and application of community-specific messaging for a PrEP promotion and identify tasks for deploying a successful campaign. A core part of course content will involve creating a Campaign Blueprint that includes interactivity of case studies and strategies tailored to the learner’s specific situation.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Identify three essential qualities of a successful community-led campaign on PrEP.
- Identify the four key tasks of the community assessment process for a PrEP campaign.
- Identify five steps of a community-informed strategic plan for a promotional PrEP campaign.
- Identify three parts to designing and applying community-specific messaging on PrEP.
- Identify three tasks for launching a successful community-led campaign on PrEP.
Intended Audiences
Program administrators and others in health departments, clinics, and clinical systems who create, design, and guide community-led promotion campaigns and initiatives regarding PrEP and other HIV prevention interventions. The primary audience is the HIV prevention workforce funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to plan, design, and deliver HIV prevention services, including PrEP.
How to Access the Course 1. Create a CDC TRAIN account at https://www.train.org/cdctrain/user/register.
2. Join the HIVCBA Learning Group:
Learner Instructions for HIV Capacity Building Assistance Learning Group on CDC TRAIN
3. Register for this course: https://cdc.train.org/cdctrain/course/1109222
New CDC Mpox Publications and Resources
- A new CDC assessment that the Risk of Resurgent Mpox Outbreaks Warrants Increased Prevention Effort
- Three new MMWRs released today highlighting the past year of the mpox response and the way forward, and providing new information on mpox vaccine.
- CDC’s MPOX Domestic response: A Look Back and a Way Forward
- Estimated Effectives of Jynneos Vaccine in Preventing Mpox Disease Among Adults: A Multijurisdictional Case-Control Study – United States, August 19, 2022 – March 31, 2023
- Effectiveness of JYNNEOS vaccine against diagnosed mpox infection — New York, 2022
- A New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Article on JYNNEOS Vaccine Effectiveness Against Mpox Disease in the U.S. A new study in the NEJM estimates vaccine effectiveness of JYNNEOS in preventing mpox disease, in the largest study of mpox vaccine effectiveness to date.
- A new HHS Fact Sheet: HHS Provides Resources on Ways Communities Can Stay Protected from Mpox in Advance of Summer Months
Additional Recently Released Resources
- A Health Alert Network (HAN) message on the Potential Risk for New Mpox Cases to inform clinicians and public health agencies about the potential for new clusters or outbreaks of mpox cases and provide resources on clinical evaluation, treatment, vaccination, and testing.
- Resources for Mpox and Spring and Summer Events and to Get Ready and Healthy for Summer 2023
Injectable Syphilis Treatment Delivery Toolkit
State and local STD programs are now relying on primary health care providers to diagnose and treat syphilis more than ever. Learn more about Injectable Syphilis Treatment Delivery (ISTD) programs & best practices here.
HIV Declines Among Young People and Drives Overall Decrease in New HIV Infections
Estimated annual new HIV infections were 12% lower in 2021 compared to 2017—dropping from about 36,500 infections to about 32,100—according to new CDC data published today. The decline was driven by a 34% decrease in new infections among 13- to 24-year-olds, mostly among gay and bisexual males. HIV prevention efforts must go further and progress must be faster, however, for gains to reach populations equitably and for national goals to end the HIV epidemic to be reached. Read more here.
News to Note
Minnesota Governor Walz Signs Far Reaching Drug Policy Reform Legislation
Changing the Course on Rising Teen STI Rates
Resources on Minor Consent for STI Services
Substance Use and Sexual Risk-Taking: Connecting the Dots for Adolescent Health Professionals
Strengths-Based Approaches to Adolescent Sexual Health and Being an Askable Adult Webinar Recording
