FY12 HIV Prevention for Women Living in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

archived

The purpose of this program is to provide accurate and comprehensive information on HIV/AIDS prevention AND healthy behaviors to maintain both mental and physical health for women living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The program shall increase HIV prevention knowledge and reduce the risk of contracting HIV among women using gender specific multi-level interventions and approaches. OWH hopes to fulfill this purpose by providing funding to eligible organizations to enhance prevention and support activities to USVI women living on St. Thomas or St. Croix islands. The goals for this program are: ? To increase community wide awareness of HIV/STD prevalence and prevention; and? To provide gender specific prevention education to a minimum of 150 women and/or teenage girls in St. Thomas and 150 women and/or teenage girls in St. Croix.The objectives of the OWH program are:? To increase understanding and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and how to prevent infection;? To increase participant recognition of risk behaviors and increase understanding of self protective behaviors; ? To increase participant understanding of the importance of knowing one?s status; ? To increase voluntary HIV/STD testing among prevention education participants; and? To conduct outreach and health promotion in the USVI.In order to achieve the objectives of the program the grantee shall: (1) Review local/city/county/State data on HIV incidence among women populations, and explore challenges and trends, which enable risks and vulnerabilities of women living in rural and frontier Indian Country. Please reference and use data and other demographics from the U.S. Census, CDC surveillance reports, the National Center for Health Statistics, Quick Health Data on-Line, etc. (2) Develop a model plan to outreach to women living in the U. S. Virgin Islands and to facilitate group interventions to provide accurate HIV/STD prevention education and overall wellness. The model should demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and integration of the culture, language, and gender specific social determinants of health; (3) Identify and implement an evidence-based prevention intervention which addresses vulnerabilities and high risk behaviors in women, e.g., negotiating skills, assertiveness, relationship building, isolation and loneliness, social acceptability of concurrent partners, depression, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, substance use/abuse, childcare, transportation, confidentiality, family, coercion, poverty, illiteracy, financial dependency, and other dynamics that disproportionately impact women and girls; provide complete curricula, i.e. topics, content, facilitator?s guide, participant workbook, participant evaluation forms, and pre/post instruments. Describe the intervention format: number of sessions; session length, period of time over which the intervention will be given, etc. Describe training format, teaching methods and strategies proposed to deliver modules, e.g., interactive exercises, facilitated discussion, lectures, video/films, community peers, etc. De scribe retention strategies for participants enrolled in group intervention including use of incentives;(4) Coordinate HIV counseling and testing for women with unknown HIV status and link women who test HIV positive to medical care and other services; (5) Establish Memoranda of Understanding with local/State departments of health, social services, local small businesses, community and faith based organizations as partners to implement referral coordination for counseling, STD/HIV testing, well woman screenings, other social service needs, and logistical program support; (6) Conduct local evaluation of performance activities with indicators and metrics specified;(7) Submit a minimum of 2 abstracts to local, territorial and national conferences for presentations AND draft 1White Paper for presentation to OWH staff and partners. These should highlight lessons learned, best practices, and next steps directly related to efforts within this program. (8) Develop a sustainability plan to continue the program activities and community linkages beyond OWH funding and shall illustrate how program performance addressed community needs and the needs of women living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (9) The grantee is encouraged to attend at least one national, regional, or State HIV/AIDS Conference (e.g., U.S. Conference on AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National HIV Prevention Conference, etc.) to seek updates in HIV prevention strategies, therapies, and priority activities as advised by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, CDC, Health Resources and Services Administration, and other public health experts.

High