Contributions of the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) in 2012-2013 to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS)

Background:The federal Ryan White Program’s AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) national network trains providers on HIV/AIDS care best practices.  We assessed the proportion of trainings congruent with National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) goals to reduce new HIV infections, improve health and access, and reduce HIV-related disparities.

Methods:Program and provider-trainee data are collected on standardized forms for all trainings.  We linked these sources and calculated proportions of trainings that covered topics related to NHAS goals and provider-trainee diversity using fiscal year (FY) 2012-13 data reported by 1/21/2014.  The Area Health Resources Files (9/2013) provided national estimates of physicians for training rates among the physician-trainee subgroup.

Results:During FY 2012-13, AETCs delivered 14,633 trainings to 111,596 provider-trainees, of whom 55,844 were unique individual trainees.  The majority (93.4%) of trainings were relevant to an NHAS goal, with 6,743 (46.1%) trainings on HIV prevention and behavior-change topics, including risk reduction and routine HIV testing.  Special-population topics included clinical issues among racial/ethnic minorities (28.7%), rural populations (13.8%), incarcerated (13.4%), homeless/unstably housed (11.7%), and immigrant/border populations (9.4%).  Provider-trainees included 11.0% HIV providers with <2 years of experience, 20.6% practicing in rural settings, and 26.0% serving ≥50% minority HIV-infected patients.  Among physician-trainees only (n=9,002; 16.1%), non-minority physicians comprised the largest racial/ethnic group (55.1%); the estimated physician-trainee rate was 8.3 per 1,000 white physicians compared with 18.4 and 18.3 per 1,000 for Latino and African-American physicians, respectively.

Conclusions:  AETCs educate a diverse group of providers in the US on key topics aligned with NHAS goals.