SPNS/Fax: An Electronic Report from HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreements:
Volume 1, Issue 8 (July 27, 1996)

Information dissemination from 27 Innovative Models of HIV Care projects funded as Special Projects of National Significance by the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Introduction

Welcome to SPNS/Fax: An Electronic Report from HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreements. In each issue of SPNS/Fax, we will highlight findings from the HRSA Special Projects of National Significance Program Cooperative Agreements. The projects have been funded to develop innovative models of HIV/AIDS care. SPNS/Fax reports are distributed every two weeks by fax machine to all subscribers. All issues of SPNS/Fax are also available at this Web site. Due to slight differences in the media, issues distributed by fax machine may appear slightly different from those posted on this Web site, but the content is identical.

Mountain-Plains Regional AIDS Education and Training Center

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center's Mountain-Plains Regional AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) was awarded a three-year grant from HRSA/HAB's SPNS in September 1994. This project is assessing the effectiveness of three instructional methods to increase the knowledge, ability, and willingness of rural health care providers to deliver services to at risk and HIV-infected patients. The three instructional methods include self-study, two-way interactive audiovisual teleconferencing, and experiential programs presented by outreach teams. A model of the program is presented in the figure below. The project is recruiting 1600 health care providers including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners from rural areas in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Innovative features of the model employed by the Mountain-Plains Regional AETC include the following:

• standardized content (HIV prevention, early intervention, and health promotion) for each of the three instructional methods;

• assessment of the relative cost-effectiveness of each method;

• training outcomes that are assessed by case studies; and

• a case study based curriculum.

The self-study instructional materials are collectively entitled HIV/AIDS Prevention, Early Intervention and Health Promotion: A Self-Study Module for Rural Health Care Providers. This model for educating health care providers about HIV/AIDS issues offers potentially great advantages over other approaches. Although the aggregate number of health care providers targeted for training is large, it is dispersed over a large, rural region, encompassing eight states. These great distances make preceptor models expensive, if not cost prohibitive. Although self-study instructional materials can be expensive to develop, they can be widely disseminated at a relatively low cost. Additionally, the self-study approach employed in this instance does not require users to have and be competent in using newer technologies, such as audiovisual teleconferencing. Providers can complete the self-study module on their own time, compared to scheduled training sessions.

A pilot study assessing the efficacy of the self-study method has been conducted with 28 providers (physicians, physician assistants or nurse practitioners, and nurses) in eight states. Study results show a significant improvement in HIV/AIDS knowledge scores and self-ratings of skills and ability to provide services. Thus, initial feedback on the self-study method indicates that it is an effective way of improving health care providers' knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

The self-study module served as a base curriculum for the other two instructional methods of this project. Currently, all methods are being implemented. A follow-up is planned to help determine the extent to which health care providers actually changed their practices in delivering services to at risk and HIV-infected patients. Next year, instructional materials will be finalized and made available regionally and nationally. In addition, information related to the relative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the three instructional methods will be disseminated through professional meetings, conferences, and publications.

For more information, contact Donna Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., by email at donna.anderson@uchsc.edu, or Sara Martin, M.P.H., Mountain-Plains AETC, University of Colorado, Campus Box A089, 4200 E Ninth Ave., Denver, CO 80262, 303.355.1305.

SPNS/Fax is produced by The Measurement Group–PROTOTYPES Evaluation and Dissemination Center (EDC). Editorial comments should be made to The Measurement Group at 5811A Uplander Way, Culver City, California 90230, 310.216.1051, 310.670.7735 (fax).
 

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