NU62PS924772

National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) - The Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the US, with the tenth-highest rate of new HIV diagnoses among all MSAs.

Houston's HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, as of March 2021, revealed that in Houston/Harris County, the cumulative number of reported AIDS cases was 33,504. Of these cases, 14,283 (42.6%) were presumed to be living. The number of reported cases of HIV, regardless of AIDS status, was 31,039, with 24,971 (80.5%) presumed to be living.

In addition to a high HIV prevalence, the burden of HIV infection in the Houston area is disproportionately concentrated among a few high-risk populations. These subpopulations with a higher HIV prevalence in Houston include males (76% of all cases), Blacks (43%), men who have sex with men (MSM; 46%), high-risk heterosexuals (HET; 21%), and people who inject drugs (PWID; 6%). Other high-risk target subpopulations overburdened by HIV infections that have been considered as targets include transgender women and women who exchange sex.

The National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system will allow for monitoring of HIV risk-related behaviors, as well as emerging infections among high-risk populations, such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and hepatitis viruses. Data from NHBS will provide estimates of HIV, create awareness of infections and risk behaviors, and help improve HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use. Ultimately, this will aid in reducing HIV incidence among high-risk populations overburdened by HIV infections. This is critical to achieving the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), CDC's High-Impact Prevention (HIP) approach, and ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

In line with the CDC project descriptions and strategies, the Houston Health Department (HHD) has summarized the proposed approach that highlights the main activities, resulting outputs, performance measures evaluation indicators, and expected outcomes in this application. The goal of these activities is to produce high-quality locally and nationally representative data on the behavioral and clinical characteristics of high-risk, hard-to-reach populations. Additionally, the goal is to develop a strong data management and dissemination plan targeted to potential local and national users, enhance collaborations among federal, state, and local partners and stakeholders in the Houston MSA responsible for HIV case surveillance, prevention, and treatment, increase the proportion of persons who are aware of and linked to HIV care, and decrease the number of new HIV infections, HIV-associated morbidity, and disparities in health outcomes during the performance period.

The HHD has successfully executed previous NHBS cooperative agreements, PA 04-17, PS08-001, PS11-001, and PS16-1601, and has the experience, human resources, and administrative capacity to effectively implement all the activities outlined in the current NOFO (CDC-RFA-PS22-2201).

City Of Houston

NOT APPLICABLE

93.944 - Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus Syndrome (AIDS) Surveillance

CDC Office of Financial Resources (OFR) [HHS - CDC]

National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) [HHS - CDC]

Texas United States

State-Wide

National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) (CDC-RFA-PS22-2201)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 575% from $467,726 to $3,155,451.