HRSA Grant for Enhancing HCV Care Among People of Color

The ETAC will assist RWHAP Parts A and B recipients funded under HRSA-16-189 in achieving their goal of a centrally coordinated, comprehensive system of HCV screening, care, and treatment among people living with HIV (PLWH).  The ETAC will (1) provide technical assistance and capacity building assistance (TA/CBA) to the RWHAP Parts A and B funded jurisdictions; (2) design and implement a rigorous multisite evaluation to assess the implementation of the four comprehensive HCV screening, care, and treatment systems; and (3) lead and coordinate the efforts for publication and dissemination of best practices, lessons learned, and other findings from the initiative.  The awarded RWHAP jurisdictions will be expected to cooperate with the ETAC in all phases of the project.

By the second month of Year 1, the ETAC will develop an assessment of coinfected patient knowledge regarding HCV treatment to be implemented by the four funded jurisdictions.  Results of this Patient Knowledge Assessment will identify gaps to be addressed by implementing educational programs for consumers in their jurisdictions.  Also by the second month of Year 1, the ETAC will develop an assessment of health care providers’ knowledge of HCV screening and treatment among HIV/HCV coinfected people to be implemented by the four funded jurisdictions.  Results of this Provider Assessment will identify knowledge gaps and training needs of health care providers to be addressed through training, TA/CBA.  From these two assessments and a needs assessment conducted by each of the four funded jurisdictions, the ETAC will develop a TA/CBA Plan tailored to the needs of each jurisdiction, by the ninth month of Year 1.  The TA/CBA Plan will include the implementation of a community of practice[1],[2] of the project directors of the four jurisdictions, facilitated by the ETAC; the community of practice will provide a platform for the project directors to share challenges and lessons learned while implementing this project.  Finally, in the first half of Year 1, the ETAC will be expected to develop a mixed-methods multisite evaluation plan (including quantitative and qualitative components) to assess the system and patient outcomes and the project implementation processes of the four jurisdictions.

Starting in the fourth quarter of Year 1, the ETAC will implement its TA/CBA Plan, providing individualized TA and CBA to the four jurisdictions and launching the Community of Practice.  The ETAC will be expected to provide TA/CBA during regular teleconferences, through its website and webinars, during annual site visits, and at the annual national working meetings which will be coordinated by the ETAC and held in the Washington, DC area.  Also starting in the second half of Year 1, the ETAC will implement its multisite evaluation, with the full cooperation of the four funded jurisdictions. 

In Year 2, the ETAC will continue the TA/CBA activities and the multisite evaluation.  The National HCV Provider Competencies and Curriculum will be implemented in Year 2 by the ETAC and the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs).  In Year 3, the ETAC will begin the analysis of its outcome and process data, and lead and coordinate publications and disseminations in collaboration with the HAB Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program and the four funded jurisdictions.

Throughout the project, the ETAC will work in close coordination with the jurisdictional sites funded under HRSA-16-189, AETC program award recipients and other training and TA providers.

[1] Introduction to communities of practice. http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/.  Accessed 4/25/16.

[2] Wenger EC and Snyder WM.  Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier.  Harvard Business Review January-February 2000.  https://hbr.org/2000/01/communities-of-practice-the-organizational-frontier.  Accessed 4/25/16.