Reference no: EM133666897
Problem
A program is focusing on HIV in the Cook County, Chicago. The number of new HIV diagnosis in Cook County has steadily decreased over time. The Cook County Department of Public Health reports that in 2021, Black persons represented 48% of new HIV diagnoses but are only 16% of the population of suburban Cook County. The number of HIV diagnoses in Black persons remains highest in comparison to other race and ethnicities. And people living with HIV live mostly in the South and West districts of Cook County. The Cook County Health Department states, almost half of males (sex at birth) acquired HIV through male-to-male sexual contact, and most females (sex at birth) acquired HIV through heterosexual contact (2023). Stigma and fear often affect people living with HIV. Stigma can result in sexual behaviors that increase vulnerability to HIV or social isolation.
Cook County is working to provide access to care while eliminating the economic burden that treating HIV can have on an individual & their family. GTZIL focuses on two primary goals. First, to increase by 20% the number of people living with HIV who are virally suppressed and second, to increase by 20% the number of people without HIV who use PrEP (IDPH, 2020). With this initiative in mind, we propose a mobile community clinic in the South district that will allow Black people in the Cook County, IL community to receive the care and education they need in an area they know and feel safe.
Priority Population: Black men who have sex with men (MSM).
Program Goal: Increase HIV/STI testing and PrEP/ART linkage to care in the Southern region of Cook County for Black men who have sex with men (Black MSM).
Program Hypothesis: If there is an increase in accessible HIV testing via a mobile testing unit, then there will be an increase in HIV/STI testing and PrEP/ART linkage to care in Southern Cook County.
Outcome objective 1: Increase the rate of HIV/STI testing among Black MSM in southern Cook County by 25% by 2025.
A. Who and how many will be included in your program (each in the intervention and comparison/control group if you have those groups)
B. Where and how you will recruit them; how they will be assigned to different study groups if there is any (e.g., per convenience, through randomization); variation in program provision for different groups (e.g., what the participants in the intervention group will receive and what those in the comparison/control group will receive); and how to collect data (e.g., survey, physical exam, drawing blood).