Past National Projects

National Resource Center for Ryan White Part D (formerly Title IV)

Part D was the component of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program dedicated to addressing the needs of vulnerable children, adolescents, women, and families. The NRC for Part D provided coordination and support for the national Perinatal and Pediatric Antiretroviral Working Groups and specialized projects focusing on women. The NRC for Part D developed and implemented training programs, provided communication mechanisms, and conducted innovative programmatic research to strengthen the capacity of Part D projects that provided direct services to the targeted patient populations.

Provided technical assistance and implemented education and research initiatives to support:

• High quality care for vulnerable children, adolescents, women, and families living with or affected by HIV infection
• Health literacy for these vulnerable populations

Education

The NRC education initiatives provided technical assistance to clinicians to improve the quality of care, health literacy and wellness of clients served by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Examples of these initiatives include:

• Coordinating the US Public Health Service (USPHS) Pediatric and Perinatal Antiretroviral Guidelines Working Groups. These working groups developed and regularly reviewed and updated the clinical guidelines that facilitate clinician access to the most effective antiretroviral treatments for managing HIV infection and for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, both of which are essential components of family-centered, comprehensive HIV care. The living guidelines documents can be found on the AIDSinfo website by clicking here.
• Conducting training for healthcare providers and consumers about participation in clinical trials. The training provided information about how to research clinical trials using search engines, informed consent processes, consumer participation on advisory boards, communicating about research, and access to clinical research in the community. Click here for more information on clinical trials training.

Research

The NRC conducted applied research to understand clients' needs, inform practice, and support practice improvements. These studies aimed to develop practical strategies for clinicians. Examples include:

• Survey completed by 857 women about their opinions about routine HIV testing during pregnancy (i.e., Opt-out approach).
• Multi-center focus group study to learn of women's opinions about the process for the Opt-out approach to HIV testing during pregnancy.
• Multi-site field study including site observations, interviews with administrators, medical record reviews, and focus groups with clients and clinicians to learn about Pap screening and gynecologic care for women living with HIV infection.
• Survey of pediatric HIV nutrition providers to learn about frontline care in the era of Highly Active Antiretrovial Therapy (HAART).
• Research to learn about and improve health self-management for women living with HIV.