California Center for HIV/AIDS Policy Research
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The long term goal of the California Center for HIV/AIDS Policy Research (“the Center”) is to bring the most relevant and timely evidence to bear on HIV/AIDS policy making in order to further California’s efforts to develop and maintain efficient, accessible, state-of-the-art programs and services to serve the diverse populations of Californians impacted and affected by HIV/AIDS. The Center is a collaboration primarily between UCLA and AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). Researchers with extensive experience in HIV/AIDS health policy research (Dr. Leibowitz, Dr. Klosinski) will lead the UCLA team. They will take primary responsibility for conducting the research projects, with input from Senior Policy Advisors Dr. Rotheram and Dr. Coates. The APLA team includes Mr. Phil Curtis and Mr. Craig Thompson who have extensive community-based experience in developing and implementing HIV/AIDS policy initiatives. To provide guidance for the research and policy dissemination, Mr. Curtis and Mr. Thompson will form a Policy Advisory Committee, which will consist of up to 12 persons. One third of the membership will come from consumer groups, a third from AIDS service organizations and a third from government agencies. The effective dissemination of Center research and policy findings is a major goal of the Center. In addition to communicating with policy makers at local, state and national levels, the Center will use both paper and electronic media to disseminate its findings widely to HIV researchers, community organizations, and HIV+ individuals. The Center will be organized into two Cores: a Rapid Response Core, for fast turnaround on current policy issues; and a Research Core to focus on longer-term issues. Rapid Response Policy Core The goal of the Rapid Response Policy Core is to identify, formulate and respond to emergent policy research questions in a timely manner. Under the leadership of Mr. Phil Curtis, the Rapid Response Policy Core will: • Identify emerging HIV/AIDS policy issues, building on APLA’s ongoing monitoring of HIV/AIDS programs, policy, legislation and funding at the local, state and national levels. • Maintain a data infrastructure to for rapid response by 1)updating UCLA’s Mapping Data matrix, which includes all state and federal funding for HIV/AIDS care in CA; and 2) incorporating APLA client data to provide an “early warning signal” of access barriers • Model the effects on different CA communities of proposed federal and state HIV/AIDS policy changes using the Mapping Data. • Bring relevant research findings from the Center or other researchers to the attention of policy makers The Policy Research Core The goal of the Policy Research Core, directed by Dr. Arleen Leibowitz, is to conduct longer term evaluations of policy options to address the needs of people living with HIV or at risk for HIV infection. The first five specific aims listed below use Mapping Data. The sixth uses APLA client data: 1. Determine the geographic distribution of publicly funded treatment and support services and their relationship to the distribution of living AIDS cases. 2. Identify areas or populations that are underserved by determining if the current financing system provides equitable access to treatment and support for all PLHA in CA by examining if public funding for treatment correlates with: o Demographics (race, ethnicity, gender, age) o EMA or TGA status of the area o Transmission route (heterosexual vs. homosexual or bisexual vs. drugs as the sole risk factor) 3. Determine the geographic distribution of publicly financed prevention services and their relationship to populations at risk. 4. Identify gaps in HIV prevention by examining whether the spatial distribution of public funding for prevention correlates with: o Demographics (race, ethnicity, gender, age) o EMA or TGA status of the area 5. Analyze systems of care in terms of: o integration of treatment and prevention funding o “mainstreaming” of publicly funded clients o efficiency 6. Examine access barriers This Center features a multidisciplinary collaboration between the policy specialists and HIV investigators to develop and disseminate the objective, scientific evidence necessary for California to effectively target its resources to respond to the needs of people living with HIV or at risk for HIV infection.