Assessing HIV/AIDS prevention services in three Connecticut cities (Hartford, Willimantic, and New Haven)

This project focuses on assessing the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention services in 3 Connecticut cities: Hartford, Willimantic, and New Haven in order to determine if services are being adequately utilized and if the HIV/AIDS prevention services currently available are reaching at-risk populations. By performing this assessment, the Connecticut HIV Planning Consortium (CHPC) can more appropriately direct the Connecticut Department of Public Health's allocation of state and federal dollars for HIV care and prevention according to epidemiological trends of the disease. To date, no analysis has been carried out to determine whether priority populations are actually being reached by prevention services. In partnership with the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition (CARC), our research team carried out an assessment of available HIV prevention services in three Connecticut cities: Hartford, New Haven, and Willimantic. We identified high HIV risk populations in these cities and compared them with the target populations of available prevention services. We also assessed utilization of these services using data from the Department of Public Health. We detected gaps in prevention services, and identified underserved high-risk populations at the city-level. Integrating results from interviews with we carried out with service providers and community members with our services assessment, we created a set of recommendations for a more equitable allocation of prevention resources and dollars. In alignment with the conference's theme of social justice, this project worked towards promoting needs-driven community health planning, and ensuring that health services directly address a community's most pressing challenges and most vulnerable populations.