Officials from the National Institutes of Health and the city of Washington, D.C. today announced the new D.C. Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress, a collaborative research initiative between NIH and the D.C. Department of Health designed to decrease the rate of new HIV infections in the city, improve the health of district residents living with HIV infection, and strengthen the city's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The partnership is being co-led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, and the D.C. Department of Health.
NIH has allocated $26.4 million for the first two years of the partnership through funding from NIAID and the NIH Office of AIDS Research.
"Tragically, our nation's capital has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS, where about 3 percent of adults and adolescents are infected with the virus," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "By collaborating with Mayor Fenty's administration to establish the new D.C. Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress, NIH will seek to answer critical HIV research questions that could positively affect the district's HIV/AIDS problem and serve as a model for programs in other U.S. cities as well."
The D.C. Partnership centers on four research efforts:
- Identifying populations at high risk for HIV acquisition and developing effective interventions for reducing their risk
- Establishing a D.C.-wide data analysis mechanism to identify and address health issues and outcomes for people receiving HIV care and treatment
- Augmenting the city's HIV-related subspecialty medical care and enhancing access to research studies
- Conducting a pilot program to study the voluntary test-and-treat concept aimed at stemming new cases of HIV infection
"As the nation's capital and a national leader in the fight against HIV, the District of Columbia is excited to launch a new, innovative partnership for HIV/AIDS progress with NIH," says Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. "This comprehensive collaboration will generate fresh ideas, new services and technical knowledge to enable the city and NIH to prevent new infections and improve health care services for all residents living with HIV/AIDS."
Identifying, Helping HIV At-risk Populations
African-Americans represent the overwhelming majority-76 percent-of the district's HIV/AIDS cases. To better understand the risk factors for HIV infection and develop effective interventions for reducing risk, NIAID is conducting two observational studies through its HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN). The first study, HPTN 061, is collecting sexual and social networking information from black men who have sex with men (MSM). Participants receive HIV risk-reduction counseling and condoms; testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; screenings for substance use, mental health issues, partner and/or homophobic violence; and a peer system to help them navigate the health care system and utilize HIV services. Already under way, the two-year study will assess the impact of these services on HIV incidence. HPTN 061 will enroll 2,460 men in six U.S. cities, including about 400 Washington participants.
HPTN 064, also a two-year observational study in six U.S. cities, aims to estimate HIV incidence among African-American women from areas with high rates of both HIV and poverty. The study characterizes their sexual behavior, alcohol and drug use, prevalence of domestic violence, and mental health indicators, and explores issues that facilitate and hamper HIV testing. HPTN 064 will enroll 1,200 women including 200 women from the district.
Both local studies are being conducted through a HPTN clinical site at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.
Tracking HIV Care, Measuring Success
The new D.C. Partnership will help track HIV-associated health issues and outcomes by linking information from 13 of the city's largest health care providers covering roughly 12,000 district residents living with HIV. By establishing this system, the partnership aims to better assess the clinical and treatment status of individual HIV-infected patients, evaluate outcomes of specific clinics and health programs and measure the impact of HIV testing and treatment initiatives within the city. The partnership will benefit providers by helping develop data-driven public health strategies.
"Our collaboration with NIH will allow us to continue our work to make sustainable and measurable improvements in the health and wellness of people living with HIV/AIDS," says D.C. Department of Health Director Pierre Vigilance, M.D., M.P.H.
According to Shannon L. Hader, M.D., M.P.H, senior deputy director of the DC HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration, the new partnership will both "bring D.C. medical providers together to yield extraordinary knowledge about the district's HIV epidemic and put D.C. on the map to recruiting new scientists and medical practitioners as the place to fight HIV/AIDS."
Enhancing Care for HIV-related Medical Issues