IAPAC Awards 10 Implementation Science Grants Under Auspices of Fast-Track Cities Implementation Science Fund
In a first round of grant-making, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) has awarded 10 grants to support implementation science studies under the auspices of its Fast-Track Cites Implementation Science Fund. The grants were awarded to researchers in 10 Fast-Track Cities, including Bangkok, Bishkek, Delhi, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kyiv, Lusaka, Nairobi, and New Orleans.
“IAPAC is proud to support researchers across the Fast-Track Cities network to conduct implementation science studies evaluating interventions that can ‘move the needle’ as far as HIV prevention and care continua optimization,” said Dr. José M. Zuniga, IAPAC’s President/CEO. “We look forward to disseminating outcomes from the 10 funded studies so that all Fast-Track Cities are informed and can implement interventions that have a positive impact on urban HIV responses.”
The emerging field of implementation science explores questions around improving public health, by promoting the adoption of effective interventions, policies, and strategies in a variety of real-world settings. The geographically diverse grantees include community-based organizations, research centers, and academic institutions. Following is a list of Round 1 grantees and their implementation science studies:
- AFEW with Yale University: Implementing the NIATx Rapid Change Treatment Improvement Model in Bishkek by Developing a “Regional Collaborative” to Create Improved, Sustainable Models of OAT Delivery that Focus on HIV/addiction Treatment Integration, HIV Prevention and OAT Expansion, and Guide Expansion of the NIATx Model in Kyrgyzstan
- Alliance Global: A Peer-Driven Intervention to Increase HIV Testing with Linkage to Prevention, Care, and Support for Ukrainian Men who have Sex with Men with Elevated Risk for HIV in Kyiv City
- Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Uganda: Determining the Effectiveness of Dispensing Messages on Adherence and Viral Suppression among Children with an Unsuppressed Viral Load in Uganda
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia: Adapting the Social Network Strategy to Re-Engage Loss to Follow-Up among Key Populations in HIV Care in Lusaka, Zambia: A Mixed Methods Implementation Science Study
- Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa: Identifying Healthcare System Barriers and Solutions to Improve Implementation of Community ART Delivery during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in eThekwini
- Ikageng Itereleng AIDS Ministries (South Africa): Optimizing Uptake of and Adherence to PrEP amongst Female Sex Workers and Young Women (15-24) at Ikageng Community Centers
- Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (Thailand): National Health Security Office’s Same-Day ART Policy to Support the Implementation of Same-Day ART in Community-Based Organizations
- Kenyatta National Hospital: Understanding Current Nairobi Viral Load Monitoring Systems, Identifying and Addressing Potential Gaps in Implementation, and Establishing a City-County-Level Collaborative Network to Identify Program-Level Indicators for Viral Load Monitoring
- New Orleans Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center: Using the ADAPT-ITT framework to adapt the Denver Same-Day PrEP Model to the New Orleans setting and develop an implementation plan for the Rapid PrEP Initiative at the LSU-CrescentCare Sexual Health Center (SHC)
- The Humsafar Trust: CHALO (Let’s Go) Delhi! Implementation Science Approach for Increasing HIV Testing Uptake among Online MSM in Delhi, India: Testing Acceptability, Feasibility, and Real-World Effectiveness of Virtual Interventions
Round 1 of the Fast-Track Cities Implementation Science Fund’s grant-making was made possible through grants from Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare. An announcement regarding Round 2 grant-making will be made in the near future.
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About the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
With more than 30,000 members globally, IAPAC is the largest association of clinicians and allied health professionals working to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and viral hepatitis by 2030. IAPAC is also the core technical partner of the Fast-Track Cities initiative and the Secretariat for its Fast-Track Cities Institute.
