Abstract
The nationwide scale-up of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions has been widely recognized as a crucial step in ending the HIV epidemic. Although the successful delivery of interventions may involve intensive expert training, technical assistance (TA), and dedicated funding, most organizations attempt to replicate interventions without access to focused expert guidance. Thus, there is a grave need for initiatives that meaningfully address HIV health disparities while addressing these inherent limitations. Here, the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA HAB) initiative Using Evidence-Informed Interventions to Improve HIV Health Outcomes among People Living with HIV (E2i) piloted an alternative approach to implementation that de-emphasized expert training to naturalistically simulate the experience of future HIV service organizations with limited access to TA. The E2i approach combined the HAB-adapted Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series Collaborative Learning Model with HRSA HAB’s Implementation Science Framework, to create an innovative multi-tiered system of peer-to-peer learning that was piloted across 11 evidence-informed interventions at 25 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program sites. Four key types of peer-to-peer learning exchanges (i.e., intervention, site, staff role, and organization specific) took place at biannual peer learning sessions, while quarterly intervention cohort calls and E2i monthly calls with site staff occurred during the action periods between learning sessions. Peer-to-peer learning fostered both experiential learning and community building and allowed site staff to formulate robust site-specific action plans for rapid cycle testing between learning sessions. Strategies that increase the effectiveness of interventions while decreasing TA could provide a blueprint for the rapid uptake and integration of HIV interventions nationwide.
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04 March 2024
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04296-0
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the following people for their efforts in support of the E2i initiative: the E2i Coordinating Center for Technical Assistance, The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health: Richard A. Cancio, MPH; Sarah Mitnick, BA; Tess McKenney, BA; Neeki Parsa, BA; and Reagin Wiklund, BS; Venton Hill- Jones, MS; Marvell Terry; the E2i Evaluation Center, University of California, San Francisco, Center for AIDS Prevention Research: Carol Dawson- Rose, RN, PhD, FAAN; Kimberly A. Koester, PhD; Mary A. Guzé, MPH; and Andres Maiorana, MA.
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The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (U69HA31067) to The Fenway Institute. No percentage of this project was financed with nongovernmental sources. This information and the content and conclusions of this article are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by, HRSA, HHS, or the US government.
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Alex S. Keuroghlian declares royalties as editor of a McGraw Hill textbook on transgender and gender diverse health care and an American Psychiatric Association textbook on gender-affirming psychiatric care. The remaining authors have no competing interests to declare.
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Keuroghlian, A.S., Marc, L., Goldhammer, H. et al. A Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Learning Approach for the Implementation of Evidence-Informed Interventions to Improve HIV-Related Health Outcomes. AIDS Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04260-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04260-4