AIDS Education and Training Centers’ HIV Recommendations Training Initiative

Six Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center (PAETC) local performance sites (LPSs) will target medical settings for activities to promote and support expanded HIV testing, per the 2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women in Health-Care Settings. This decentralized model provides services based on an understanding of the local epidemic and local health care delivery services. The Hawai’i, Nevada and Arizona AETCs will each work with one hospital-based labor and delivery department to implement rapid HIV testing with women presenting in labor with no prenatal care or documented HIV test result. The East Bay and San Francisco AETCs will each work with one community health center (CHC) or public health clinic to implement opt-out HIV testing when feasible, given state laws and regulations, for primary care clients between the ages of 13 and 64. The University of California Los Angeles AETC will identify and target four CHCs in Los Angeles to expand HIV testing with primary care patients. All targeted health care settings will serve a majority of minorities, primarily Latinos and African Americans in California, Arizona and Nevada, and Pacific Islanders in Hawai’i. The LPSs will use a technical assistance model that includes identification of key decision-makers, support to implement clinic policies and procedures, and accompanying staff training. The San Francisco AETC will develop a binder of resource materials to support implementation in CHC settings. Materials will consist of:

• Federal guidelines and recommendations for testing and initial diagnosis
• Sample protocols, policies and procedures
• Fact sheets
• Staff training materials
• Patient education materials
• State regulations on testing and reporting
• References and resources

The LPSs that work with labor and delivery settings will use PAETC’s resources and reference manual developed for our current California Office of AIDS-supported Rapid Testing in Labor and Delivery program. Level I and II training will be provided to physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists.