Enhancing Access to Quality HIV Care for Women of Color 1) Demonstrations Sites and 2) Evaluation and Technical Assisance Center | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is HRSA-09-126?

HRSA-09-126 is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding opportunity titled "Enhancing Access to Quality HIV Care for Women of Color." It was offered as a Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) grant under CFDA 93.928 and focused on improving how Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded providers link HIV-positive women of color to care quickly after diagnosis and keep them engaged in ongoing, high-quality HIV primary care.

What problem is this funding opportunity trying to solve?

The opportunity targets gaps and disparities in timely entry into HIV primary care and long-term retention for women of color living with HIV. It emphasizes practical, real-world interventions that reduce barriers to accessing care and strengthen sustained engagement in HIV primary care.

What are the main goals of the program?

The program has two main goals: (1) fund multiple demonstration sites to implement and test targeted interventions that improve timely entry and retention in HIV primary care for women of color, and (2) fund one Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center (ETAC) to coordinate a multi-site evaluation, provide technical and clinical support, conduct cost-effectiveness analysis, and disseminate usable guidance for replication.

What is a SPNS grant in this context?

In this context, SPNS (Special Projects of National Significance) refers to a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-related initiative designed to support demonstration projects that generate practical evidence, identify strategies that work in real service settings, and produce guidance that can be replicated broadly across HIV care systems.

Who is the target population for funded projects?

The target population is HIV-positive women of color, with a focus on improving their experiences and outcomes related to entering HIV primary care soon after diagnosis and staying consistently engaged in care over time.

What types of awards were expected under HRSA-09-126?

Two types of awards were expected: multiple demonstration site awards (to implement interventions locally) and one ETAC award (to provide evaluation leadership and technical assistance across all sites).

How many total awards were expected?

The opportunity anticipated a total of 11 awards across both components.

What was the estimated total funding amount?

The estimated total funding amount was $4,550,000.

Was cost-sharing or matching required?

No. The funding opportunity specified that there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.

When was the opportunity posted and when were applications due?

The opportunity was posted in early October 2008, and the application closing date was January 9, 2009.

Is this opportunity still open?

No. The opportunity was later archived on March 1, 2009.

What kinds of organizations were eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants included public or private nonprofit entities. Examples listed included Section 330 health centers (Community Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless, and Public Housing Primary Care), family planning agencies funded under Section 1001 (other than states), comprehensive hemophilia diagnostic and treatment centers, federally qualified health centers as defined in Medicaid statute, nonprofit private entities providing comprehensive primary care to populations at risk for HIV, local health departments, university- or medical center-affiliated clinics, and faith-based and community-based organizations.

Why does eligibility include both clinical providers and community-based organizations?

The eligibility structure reflects the idea that improving entry and retention in HIV care often requires more than clinical services alone. Community-rooted and faith-based organizations can provide outreach, trust-building, culturally grounded support, and navigation that can be critical to linking women of color to care and keeping them engaged.

What is a "demonstration site" under this opportunity?

A demonstration site is a funded local project that implements and tests a focused intervention (or set of interventions) designed to improve timely entry into HIV primary care and retention in ongoing HIV primary care for women of color, while also documenting and sharing lessons learned so others can replicate what works.

What intervention areas were highlighted as required domains for demonstration sites?

The announcement highlighted these required intervention domains: improving provider-patient communication, strengthening patient treatment education, increasing cultural competence, reducing fragmented clinical care, and addressing confusing medical procedures and clinical facilities.

What does "improving provider-patient communication" mean in this program?

It refers to strengthening communication so patients feel heard, understood, and respected, and so clinical recommendations are conveyed clearly. The emphasis is on interactions that support trust, understanding, and engagement in care.

What does "patient treatment education" include?

Patient treatment education includes helping women understand HIV, medications, adherence, side effects, lab monitoring, and the value of continuous care, with the goal of supporting informed decision-making and sustained participation in HIV primary care.

What does "cultural competence" mean in this opportunity?

Cultural competence refers to ensuring services reflect patients' lived experiences, language, values, and realities, and actively reduce stigma or bias within care environments that could discourage entry into care or ongoing retention.

What does "reducing fragmented clinical care" involve?

Reducing fragmented clinical care means minimizing uncoordinated handoffs and disjointed services so patients are not bounced between providers or systems. The goal is to make it easier to navigate HIV care alongside related needs through more integrated and coordinated approaches.

What does it mean to address confusing medical procedures and clinical facilities?

It means making clinical processes and settings feel accessible rather than intimidating, bureaucratic, or difficult to navigate. This can include clarifying procedures, simplifying steps, and improving the patient experience within facilities and administrative workflows.

Are demonstration sites only expected to deliver services?

No. A major expectation is that demonstration sites generate knowledge others can use. Applicants were expected to propose a detailed plan for capturing lessons learned and creating best-practice models that can be shared with other Ryan White grantees and HIV providers.

What kinds of "lessons learned" and replication materials were implied?

The opportunity emphasized structured documentation such as implementation steps, operational changes, staffing approaches, partnership strategies, patient engagement methods, measurable outcomes, and an honest discussion of challenges and how they were addressed, with the goal of producing models and guidance that can be replicated beyond the original sites.

What is the ETAC and why is it important?

The Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center (ETAC) is the single, central award intended to coordinate evaluation across all funded demonstration projects. It serves as the backbone of the initiative by ensuring findings are comparable across sites, providing technical and clinical expertise, supporting implementation problem-solving, and translating results into usable guidance for broad replication.

How many ETAC awards were planned?

HRSA planned to fund one ETAC.

What are the main responsibilities of the ETAC?

The ETAC responsibilities included coordinating and conducting multi-site analysis, providing clinical expertise and program support to sites, helping refine and standardize intervention elements where appropriate, developing guidelines for integrated programs, conducting cost-effectiveness analysis, and leading dissemination of results.

What does "multi-site analysis" mean here?

Multi-site analysis refers to an evaluation approach that looks across all funded demonstration projects to assess outcomes and implementation experiences in a way that allows meaningful comparisons across different communities and program models.

Why does the program emphasize cost-effectiveness analysis?

The program recognizes that decision-makers often need evidence not only that an approach improves outcomes, but also that it is financially feasible and efficient enough to justify adoption in settings with constrained budgets.

What does dissemination involve in this opportunity?

Dissemination involves translating project findings into products that others can use, such as reports, tools, recommendations, guidelines, and potentially training materials, so effective strategies can be adopted across the broader Ryan White community and other HIV care providers.

How does this opportunity relate to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program?

The opportunity was designed to strengthen how Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded providers bring HIV-positive women of color into care after diagnosis and retain them in high-quality, ongoing HIV primary care. It also aimed to produce strategies and guidance that could be shared broadly across the Ryan White system.

What is the overall design of the initiative?

It is a coordinated national initiative where multiple local sites test practical intervention strategies to improve linkage and retention for women of color living with HIV, while one central ETAC ensures consistent evaluation, technical support, cost-effectiveness assessment, and broad dissemination of findings and implementation guidance.