Health Outreach Prevention Education

PROJECT PURPOSE

H.O.P.E. seeks to funding for a growth campaign to expand our HIV, STI, and Hepatitis C health services. We will relocate our clinic and co-locate with a pharmacy, and expand our outreach services by purchasing an additional van. We provide testing, education, and physician services to treat or provide preventative medications such as PrEP. HOPE's services focus on underserved individuals such as low income, those without health insurance, unhoused, LGBTQ+, people who use drugs, and ethnic and racial minorities such as Hispanic/Latinx.

EVIDENCE

Oklahoma ranks 2nd in the nation for the number of uninsured individuals, within the top 15 for nearly all STIs, 2nd in the nation for Hep C, and 1 of 7 states with an alarming increase of HIV in rural areas (according to the CDC). 15-24-year old youth account for nearly half of all new STIs (CDC). HOPE uses evidence-based intervention strategies to provide risk-reduction education and testing services. We currently use the evidence-based Testing and Referral/Linkage Services (CTR/L) to test, refer and link clients to services. When meeting with clients, we use the GAIN-Short Screener (GAIN-SS) in order to: 1) screen general populations to quickly and accurately identify clients who have 1 or more behavioral health disorders.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Over the Pandemic, STI rates have continued to increase and been exacerbated by many choosing not to seek services during COVID-19. In a January 2021 report, the CDC ?estimates 1 in 5 People Have a Sexually Transmitted Infection.? However, many individuals do not know they have an STI or they do not know how to practice safe sex, and they therefore unintentionally spread them. For example, 17% of Oklahomans with HIV do not know they have it. The individual short and long-term health impacts on untreated HIV and other STIs are considerable, and community health impacts include disproportionate impact for low income, uninsured individuals, ethnic and racial minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

HOPE measures our success by the number of services provided and the number of underserved individuals. As HOPE is required to report data to the State Department of Health, and we track the number of clients served, demographics including underserved categories, and positivity rates. We track the number of uninsured individuals and QTC data. For our new facility, we plan to also measure the impact of the new environment and overall services by asking clients to complete a short survey during checkout: H.O.P.E.'s space feels safe and confidential; I know more ways to reduce my sexual health risks; I know more about community resources to support my sexual health needs.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma