Exemplary Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan Sections

IHAP TA Center

The Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan Guidance, including the SCSN, includes the following subsections:

Background

In June 2015 (updated June 2021), CDC and HRSA jointly developed Guidance to support the new format of the submission of an Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan, including HIV prevention and care activities, as well as the Statewide Coordinated Statement of Need (SCSN), a legislative requirement for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part A and Part B recipients and subrecipients. The intent of the new format is to ensure integration of prevention and care activities. Also to promote collaboration and coordination across all RWHAP Parts by reducing reporting burden and duplicate efforts experienced by recipients. Streamlining the work of health department staff and HIV planning groups; and promoting collaboration and coordination in the use of data. All of this should inform HIV prevention and care program planning, resource allocation, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement efforts to meet the HIV prevention and care needs in jurisdictions, with the ultimate goals of improving outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum.

All CDC and RWHAP Part A and B funded entities were required to submit an Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan, including the SCSN, which integrated prevention and care activities. Preference was for RWHAP Part A and Part B recipients to submit a cross Part plan to support coordination across all Parts. And to maximize capacity to identify unmet need. However, HRSA and CDC recognized that there was not a one-size fits all model for integrated planning. Therefore it allowed separate Part A or Part B Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plans. Including the SCSN to be submitted as long as it was responsive to the guidance.

Purpose

The Integrated HIV/AIDS Planning Technical Assistance Center (IHAP TAC)—using criteria based on the Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan Guidance, including the SCSN—selected Integrated Plan sections as examples of strong responses to the Guidance. While all submissions were responsive to the Guidance, the IHAP TAC selected these sections to highlight those that went into more detail than the CDC/HRSA guidance outlined. There are many other high-quality plan sections that are not featured. The goal of this resource is to provide a few select models, rather than create an all-inclusive listing, to help HRSA recipients and CDC grantees to inform and guide the development or revision of their own Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plans.

Methods

The IHAP TAC team used CDC/HRSA reviewer summary statements to identify strong Integrated Plans. Each identified Plan was reviewed in full, using criteria based on the Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan Guidance. All Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plans were considered as a potential plan to highlight if they met all the criteria for the section. Ultimately, plans with particularly strong aspects—such as excellent visuals or a section description that went into more detail than the CDC/HRSA guidance outlined—were chosen to be featured. Factors such as region, type of Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan submitted (i.e. Part A only, Part B only, joint Part A and Part B), and prevalence* of PLWH were also considered as a way to ensure that the selected Integrated Plan sections provided a diverse sample of HIV prevention and care programs across the country.

* The IHAP TAC used the number of PLWH for each jurisdiction based on the CDC’s HIV Surveillance Report - Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2015. We then categorized prevalence as High, Medium, and Low based on NASTAD’s categorization: High >14,000; Medium 5,000 – 14,000; and Low < 5,000.