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Abstract

This project developed the capacity of small faith-based and community-based organizations (FBOs/CBOs) that provide HIV/AIDS-related health services to African Americans and Hispanics in Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven, Connecticut. Project funds were used to provide individualized technical assistance (TA) and trainings to pastors and staff from 101 small FBOs/CBOs on HIV/AIDS screening and testing. Funds were also used to implement group learning academies that educated staff on HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and mental health issues, and how to build partnerships and referral systems to ensure a continuum of health services. The grantee partnered with a substance abuse entity and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), which were instrumental in providing direction via the learning academies on topics related to partnership-building. The project also utilized the expertise and knowledge of professional consultants who provided support for the trainings and TA consultations on HIV/AIDS program development.

The grantee developed a Capacity Assessment and Stage Evaluation Tool (CASE) that assessed the changes in FBO/CBOs' programming capability and infrastructure. Each FBO/CBO was rated on a scale using the words survival, struggle stable, to successful and sustainable before and after the intervention. Other evaluation methods included the following: pre- and post-tests that measured knowledge gain among the learning academy participants, satisfaction surveys at the end of each training session; focus groups with key stakeholders at the end of the third year, and a review of key documents and records, including attendance sheets, proposals submitted and funded, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), and referrals made and completed. The evaluation found that over the course of three years the grantee provided 133 trainings and TA sessions to 538 staff members from 101 FBOs/CBOs, which resulted in increased organizational capacity and knowledge gain among all FBOs/CBOs in areas such as HIV/AIDS counseling and testing, referral system setup, partnership-building, and use of effective health education theories for program design and implementation. In addition, the proposal writing trainings helped 10 organizations secure funding for their HIV/AIDS services from the federal government, as well as other sources. Furthermore, 51 organizations successfully established an integrated network of HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance abuse and support services that, ultimately, will increase the utilization of, and access to, quality health services in the target area.

Related NPA Goals

• Awareness - Increase awareness of the significance of health disparities, their impact on the nation, and the actions necessary to improve health outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations.
• Leadership - Strengthen and broaden leadership for addressing health disparities at all levels.
• Data, Research, and Evaluation - Improve data availability and coordination, utilization, and diffusion of research and evaluation outcomes.

Related Healthy People 2020 Objectives

• HIV-3 Reduce the rate of HIV transmission among adolescents and adults
• HIV-7 Reduce the number of new AIDS cases among adolescents and adults who inject drugs
• HIV-12 Reduce deaths from HIV infection
• HIV-13 Increase the proportion of people living with HIV who know their serostatus
• HIV-16 Increase the proportion of substance abuse treatment facilities that offer HIV/AIDS education, counseling, and support
• HIV-17 Increase the proportion of sexually active persons who use condoms
• MHMD-4 Reduce the proportion of persons who experience major depressive episode (MDE)
• MHMD-5 Increase the proportion of primary care facilities that provide mental health treatment onsite or by paid referral
• MHMD-9 Increase the proportion of adults with mental health disorders who receive treatment
• SA-8: Increase the proportion of persons who need alcohol and/or illicit drug treatment and received specialty treatment for abuse or dependence in the past year
• SA-12 Reduce drug-induced deaths
• SA-15 Reduce the proportion of adults who drank excessively in the previous 30 days
• SA-16 Reduce average annual alcohol consumption
• SA-20 Decrease the number of deaths attributable to alcohol