CARE Act planning for unmet need.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• HIV/AIDS Care

Background:

• The Ryan White CARE Act, established in 1990, is a crucial U.S. safety net program providing health and support services for people living with HIV (PLWH).
• Title I and II grantees under the CARE Act are responsible for allocating funds to address unmet service needs, particularly for primary care.
• The 2000 reauthorization mandated grantees to assess and quantify these unmet service needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a methodology developed by the HIV/AIDS Bureau to assist CARE Act grantees in estimating the unmet need for HIV primary care services.
• To provide tools that enable grantees to identify underserved populations within their service areas.
• To support the implementation of strategies aimed at integrating underserved populations into regular primary care.

Main Methods:

• Development of quantitative estimation tools to assess unmet needs for HIV primary care.
• Assistance provided by the HIV/AIDS Bureau to grantees in utilizing these tools.
• Supplementation of these tools through the Care System Assessment Demonstration Project.

Main Results:

• The described process facilitates the quantitative estimation of unmet needs for HIV primary care services.
• Grantees can effectively identify specific populations experiencing unmet needs.
• The tools support the development and implementation of targeted service delivery strategies.

Conclusions:

• The developed process and tools are effective in quantifying unmet HIV primary care needs.
• This methodology empowers grantees to better identify and address service gaps for PLWH.
• The initiative supports the goal of increasing access to regular primary care for all people living with HIV.