Leveraging a Data to Care Approach to Cure Hepatitis C within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) | HRSA 20 077

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 20 077

The HRSA funding opportunity "Leveraging a Data to Care Approach to Cure Hepatitis C within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP)" (Funding Opportunity Number HRSA-20-077, CFDA 93.928) is a discretionary grant designed as a demonstration project that strengthens how jurisdictions find and re-engage people who have both HIV and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). The basic idea is to use a "data to care" approach: bring together public health surveillance data (what health departments collect for monitoring disease) with clinical care data (what providers and Ryan White programs capture in service settings) so that people who are known to have HIV and HCV but are not currently receiving care can be identified, contacted through appropriate public health processes, linked to treatment, and supported to stay in care. By improving the flow and use of information across systems that often operate separately, the project aims to increase HIV viral suppression while also helping people complete HCV treatment and achieve cure.

Rather than funding multiple health departments directly through this announcement, HRSA planned to fund one Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) organization, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 and one expected award. The TAP would then select and support up to ten RWHAP Part A and/or Part B jurisdictions (state, city, and/or local health departments) and provide them targeted technical assistance. The work in those jurisdictions is focused on improving collaboration between HCV surveillance programs and RWHAP-funded HIV care providers, including practical changes that make it easier to share data, coordinate outreach, and build repeatable processes for matching records across HCV and HIV datasets. The intention is that better collaboration and data exchange will make it possible to locate individuals who are out of care or untreated for HCV, connect them to appropriate services, and retain them long enough to complete therapy.

A key component of the project is structured evaluation. The TAP is expected to work collaboratively with a separate evaluation contractor that will assess the effectiveness and impact of the demonstration. Because evaluation depends on measurable outcomes, jurisdictions may need data use and data sharing agreements that allow aggregate data to be exchanged for evaluation purposes. The announcement emphasizes aggregate sharing for evaluation, reflecting the expectation that jurisdictions will protect confidentiality while still reporting meaningful metrics that show whether improved data sharing actually leads to more people being identified and linked to care.

Jurisdictions that participate (selected and funded through the TAP, in consultation with HRSA) must meet several readiness and commitment requirements. They must commit to improving HCV and HIV surveillance data sharing with RWHAP providers, maintain electronic HCV and HIV surveillance systems, and periodically match HCV and HIV surveillance datasets specifically for linkage-to-care activities. They also must be willing and able to share aggregate data with the TAP, which will in turn share it with the evaluation contractor. The TAP is expected to choose a mix of jurisdictions, including some that receive direct CDC funding to enhance viral hepatitis surveillance and some that are not directly funded by CDC (for example, programs supported indirectly through state-level funding streams). HRSA remains involved alongside the TAP in reviewing and selecting which jurisdictions participate, reinforcing that this is a cooperative, demonstration-oriented effort rather than a hands-off formula grant.

From an operational standpoint, the opportunity is centered on improving the mechanics of collaboration: creating or strengthening workflows that connect surveillance staff, Ryan White program administrators, and frontline HIV providers; establishing regular matching routines between HIV and HCV surveillance records; and using those findings to drive targeted linkage and re-engagement actions. The expected end result is not simply better data systems, but better clinical outcomes: more people with HIV and HCV correctly identified as needing services, more successful referrals into HCV treatment and HIV care, better retention, higher rates of HIV viral suppression, and increased HCV cure rates among people served within the RWHAP landscape. The opportunity was originally posted November 1, 2019, with an original closing date of January 30, 2020, under the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Leveraging a Data to Care Approach to Cure Hepatitis C within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.928.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 01, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 30, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 20 077

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