This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Leveraging a Data to Care Approach to Cure Hepatitis C within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) cooperative agreement. The purpose of this demonstration project is to link people with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and HIV within the RWHAP to care, by leveraging existing public health surveillance with clinical data systems. A Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) organization will be funded to select and provide targeted technical assistance to up to ten (10) RWHAP Part A and/or Part B jurisdictions (i.e., state, city, and/or local health departments) to focus jurisdictional effort on improving existing collaboration between their HCV surveillance systems and RWHAP care providers.
The goal of improving collaboration between HCV and HIV surveillance systems and RWHAP providers is to facilitate the sharing of data and identification of people with HIV and HCV who are not currently receiving care. When combined with clinical data from otherwise disparate databases, ideally, these improved processes for data sharing and exchange will allow people with HIV and HCV and in need of HCV treatment to be identified, linked, and retained in care; hence, leading to HIV viral suppression and cure of HCV. The TAP will work collaboratively with a contractor who will evaluate the overall effectiveness and impact of this project. Data use/sharing agreements may be required to allow for the interchange of aggregate data to conduct the evaluation.
The TAP will identify and fund jurisdictions in consultation with HRSA. To qualify, funded jurisdictions must:
• Commit to improving their HCV and HIV surveillance data sharing with RWHAP providers;
• Maintain their HCV and HIV surveillance data systems electronically;
• Periodically match the surveillance data between their HCV and HIV surveillance data systems for the purposes of linkage to care; and
• Be willing and able to share aggregate data with the TAP who will then share that data with the evaluation contractor to conduct the project’s evaluation.
The TAP will select a combination of jurisdictions to include those who are currently directly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve their viral hepatitis surveillance and those who are not directly funded by the CDC (e.g., receive viral hepatitis surveillance funds through their state). HRSA will work in partnership with the TAP in reviewing and selecting the jurisdictions.
