Outreach Services
Service Standard
Outreach Services Service Standard print version
Texas Department of State Health Services, HIV Care Services Group – HIV/STD Program | Texas DSHS
| Subcategories | Service Units |
|---|---|
| Outreach services | Per encounter |
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Description
Outreach Services category helps identify people living with HIV who do not know their HIV status or who do know their status but are not currently in care. Outreach Services provide the following activities:
- Identification of people who do not know their HIV status.
- Linkage or re-engagement of people living with HIV into HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) services, including the provision of information about health care coverage options.
Because Outreach Services are often provided to people who do not know their HIV status, some activities within this service category will likely reach people who are HIV negative. When these activities identify someone living with HIV, eligible clients should be linked to HRSA RWHAP services.
Outreach Services must:
- Use data to focus on reaching people with HIV who:
- Have never been tested and are undiagnosed.
- Have been tested and diagnosed with HIV but have not received their test results.
- Have been tested and know their HIV diagnosis but are not in medical care.
- Be conducted in places where there is a high probability that people with HIV will be identified.
- Be delivered in coordination with local and state HIV prevention outreach programs to avoid duplication of effort.
Outreach Services may be provided through community and public awareness activities (e.g., posters, flyers, billboards, social media, TV, or radio announcements) that meet the requirements above and include explicit and clear links to and information about available HRSA RWHAP services. Outreach Services may include case findings and client recruitment through street outreach.
Program Guidance
Outreach Services are provided to an individual or in small group settings and cannot be delivered anonymously, as some information is needed to facilitate any necessary follow-up and care. Outreach Services must not include outreach activities that exclusively promote HIV prevention education.
Limitations
Subrecipients may use Outreach Services funds for HIV testing when other resources are unavailable. However, testing must not supplant other existing funding.
Universal Standards
Services providers for Outreach Services must follow HRSA and DSHS Universal Standards 1-52 and 178-181.
Service Standards and Measures
The following standards and measures are guides to improving health outcomes for people with HIV throughout the State of Texas within the Ryan White Part B and State Services Program.
| Standard | Measure |
|---|---|
|
Linkage: Providers will refer people identified with HIV who do not know their status to a RWHAP or non-RWHAP service provider to ease the transition to medical services. Outreach models vary by provider, but outreach services should increase available access points to care. Agencies may link people identified with HIV who do not know yet their diagnosis to the following services:
Outreach services include linkage follow-up to confirm that people identified with HIV attended a medical appointment. |
1. Percentage of people identified with HIV who did not know their status with documentation of a referral to an HIV medical provider. 2. Percentage of people referred to an HIV medical provider with documentation of follow-up by outreach staff to confirm if the client attended the medical appointment or not. |
|
Re-engagement: Agencies should refer people identified with an HIV diagnosis who know their status but are not currently in care to RWHAP or non-RWHAP services to ease access to appropriate medical care and obtain needed support services. Outreach services include follow-up to ensure the people identified with an HIV diagnosis attended a medical appointment. |
3. Percentage of people who are aware of their HIV diagnosis but are not in care with documentation of a referral to an HIV medical service provider. 4. Percentage of people who were referred to an HIV medical provider with documentation of follow-up by outreach staff to confirm if the client attended the medical appointment or not. |
References
Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part A Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, June 2023.
Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part B Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, June 2023.
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Policy Notice 16-02: Eligible Individuals & Allowable Uses of Funds. Health Resources & Services Administration, 22 Oct. 2018.