Re-blog from NACCHO Voice - 9/30/24
This summer, the Status Neutral Approach to Improve HIV Prevention and Health Outcomes for Racial and Ethnic Minorities initiative team presented at both the NACCHO360 Conference and the National Ryan White Conference. The Status Neutral Approach (SNAP) Evaluation and Technical Assistance Provider (ETAP) team, led by JSI and partnering with NACCHO, supports four funded jurisdictions to develop, implement, and evaluate a whole-person approach that:
- Creates “one door” for both HIV prevention and treatment services.
- Addresses institutionalized HIV stigma by integrating HIV prevention and care.
- Makes HIV testing, linkage to medical care and prevention services, and testing for other medical conditions such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) more accessible and routine.
At NACCHO360, the SNAP ETAP team provided an overview of the Initiative and representatives from Hennepin County and San Diego County discussed the design of their whole-person approaches and their vision for delivering services. NACCHO360 participants had the opportunity to hear from the two sites about the design of their whole-person approaches and their vision for delivering services. Both site representatives shared how, in Year 1, they were able to take a thoughtful approach to implementation, intentional hiring, identifying gaps, and having time to reflect on those while identifying resources to fill gaps. Additionally, the sites discussed the importance of collaboration and aligning their community partners in order to provide comprehensive care for their clients. They also talked about having to pivot and be flexible as they designed their program to respond to the current infrastructure and community landscape, emphasizing the importance of the planning year. Finally, while the Initiative does not yet have lessons to share about implementation, site representatives presented high-level process maps, the envisioned structure to their whole-person approaches, and key milestones achieved during this planning year.
At the 2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment, the SNAP ETAP team presented alongside staff from HRSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and DC Health about how whole-person approaches can provide comprehensive services for people affected by HIV. The SNAP ETAP team shared two tools used with the four implementation sites to help sites prepare for implementation in Year 1 of the Initiative. These tools work together to help document opportunities for sustained whole-person service delivery and barriers that may present challenges to implementation. The Baseline Assessment Landscape Analysis tool is designed to capture information that facilitates a high-level assessment of factors that inform program development and implementation. It is also easily adapted to different contexts and can help break down silos across organizations and within the community. The Implementation Readiness Assessment tool is intended to gauge readiness to implement various activities that support a whole-person approach to care and service delivery, and help identify gaps and areas of improvement.
This tool can also help initiate conversations among leadership and implementation staff to understand challenges, identify priorities, and determine next steps. The activities are aligned with and organized by the six domains of JSI’s Person-Centered Care (PCC). Both tools are adaptable, can be taken apart, scaled, and used for other types of program implementation.
The SNAP ETAP team is excited to continue working with the four sites to put new systems in place to reach those who have not had the benefit of these services before, and to create tools and resources that benefit the broader community to implement and sustain whole-person approaches in their local jurisdictions.
Learn More about the SNAP ETAP Initiative and Subscribe for SNAP ETAP updates.