Integrated Care Core

INTEGRATED CARE CORE ABSTRACT Meta-analyses have established the efficacy of a broad range of treatments for common mental disorders (such as depression, anxiety and PTSD). Moreover, the feasibility of integrating efficacious mental health services and HIV prevention and treatment has been demonstrated, with integration shown to be an efficient strategy for

increasing access to effective mental health care and improving HIV outcomes. However, evidence-based mental health treatments are not typically available as part of routine HIV prevention and treatment services, compromising both mental health and HIV outcomes. The Integrated Care (IC) Core of the UW D-ARC aims to

help bridge this “know-do” gap so that mental health treatments shown to be effective in research trials are actually delivered to people living with or at risk for HIV. IC Core efforts will be guided by an Institute of Medicine framework for establishing the evidence base of psychosocial interventions (IOM). The Core leverages unique

strengths in (a) integrated care at the UW Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Global Health and (b) HIV research and services available through the UW/Fred Hutch CFAR and two federally funded education and training centers that provide technical assistance to a large group of local, regional and global

HIV care providers. Led by a diverse, multidisciplinary team, the IC Core will unite regional and global HIV care providers with UW researchers to generate research aligning with the IOM framework and bridging the gap between research and practice. The Core features innovative strategies to engage community partners (peer-

to-peer learning networks), provide expert consultation on research proposals (Idea Development Workshops), and disseminate new findings (annual writing workshops as well as publications and webinars coordinated with the Mental Health Innovation Network). The Core will award two Community-Centered Pilot AIDS Research

Center (C-PARC) grants to partnerships between UW faculty and HIV care provider organizations to incentivize collaborations. By supporting the development of new researchers and new collaborations between researchers and HIV care partners both local and global, the Core aims to establish an infrastructure for ongoing and

meaningful engagement of community partners in research that will lead to impactful, innovative research and, ultimately, accelerate an end to the HIV epidemic.