Form 1 Jurisdiction TA Recipient Semi-Structured Interivew Guid

OMB Number (0906-XXXX)

Expiration Date (XX/XX/202X)

Enhancing Linkage of STI and HIV Surveillance Data in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Evaluation

Jurisdiction TA Recipient Interview Guide

Public Burden Statement: This data collection will provide Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) with a better understanding of the RWHAP Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Enhancing Linkage of STI and HIV Surveillance Data Technical Assistance demonstration project. Information gathered will provide HRSA with an understanding of the extent and impact of technical assistance (TA) provided under the demonstration project, barriers and facilitators RWHAP jurisdictions face, and opportunities for improvement and lessons learned. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this information collection is 0906-XXXX and it is valid until XX/XX/202X. This information collection is voluntary. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to HRSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14N136B, Rockville, Maryland, 20857 or paperwork@hrsa.gov.

INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Thank you for taking the time today to talk with us. The purpose of this interview is to help provide the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) with a better understanding of the HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Enhancing Linkage of STI and HIV Surveillance Data in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Technical Assistance (TA) program (or Enhancing Linkages) you are participating in. Abt Associates is working with HRSA to evaluate the TA provided by Georgetown University as the Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) on this initiative. The TAP is assisting participating RWHAP jurisdictions with improvements to linking their HIV and STI surveillance data. You are being asked to participate to share your insights on current linkage and other operational processes, and your experience with the TA provided by the TAP.

Our interview today should take no more than one hour. Please understand that your participation in this interview is voluntary and that if you choose not to participate you will not be penalized in any way. You can refuse to answer any question I ask and/or may ask to stop the interview at any time. This interview asks about your experiences and is not intended to evaluate you personally.

This discussion will be confidential. Your comments, and those of other participants, will be used in reports to the government, in summary form. Your name will not be shared with HRSA. With your approval, this discussion will be audio recorded so that we can be sure to capture everything that is said. The recordings will not be shared with anyone outside the Abt Associates evaluation team.

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions that I cannot answer at this time, or at any time after this interview, I will follow up with the appropriate person and get back to you as soon as possible.

Given the information that I have just reviewed with you, do you still wish to participate in this interview? Do I have your permission to audio record the interview?

Thank you.

Interview Date:

Interviewer’s Initials:

Note-taker’s Initials:

Participant’s Jurisdiction:

Participant’s Affiliated Organization/Agency:

Participant’s Job Title:

1. To begin, please describe your role, and your department’s role, as it relates to linking HIV and STI surveillance data in your jurisdiction.

2. Please describe your department’s current process for linking HIV and STI surveillance data.

   1. Who is responsible for linking the data?

   2. Who houses the data files used for linking?

      1. How are these data obtained?

      2. Where do linked files reside (i.e., who is their data steward)?

   3. How frequently are linked data files created?

   4. How are linked files currently used?

      1. By clinicians/providers?

      2. By health department staff?

      3. By policy stakeholders?

3. What, in your opinion, are the primary barriers and facilitators to linking data effectively in your jurisdiction?

Probes: Leadership support, resources, staffing, existing interdepartmental relationships/collaboration, technological capacity?

1. What, if any, challenges have you encountered with respect to data availability (i.e., uninterrupted access to needed data inputs and outputs)? How are you and the TAP addressing these challenges?

2. What, if any, challenges have you encountered with respect to data reliability (i.e., accuracy and completeness of data, given its intended uses)? How are you and the TAP addressing these challenges?

3. What, if any, challenges have you encountered with respect to data validity (i.e., representativeness of the constructs you are trying to measure)? How are you and the TAP addressing these challenges?

1. What, if anything, has facilitated data linking in your jurisdiction?

Probes: Leadership support, resources, staffing, existing interdepartmental relationships/collaboration, technological capacity?

5. How has COVID-19 impacted your ability to link HIV and STI surveillance data?

Probes: Staff availability, data quality, data availability, technical assistance resources?

6. What costs do you anticipate your jurisdiction might incur from participating in this initiative?

7. What do you hope to gain from participating in this pilot project?

8. How do you envision the TA will help your jurisdiction achieve its goals?

9. What have been your experiences so far with the TA you have received?

10. How, if at all, do you anticipate the health of people with STIs and/or HIV might be impacted as a result of this initiative?

11. How do you hope to use/apply what you have learned from this pilot in your daily work?

12. Are there any additional thoughts you would like to share before we conclude?

Thank you very much for your time today. We are at the end of our interview.

Additional Questions to be asked in Evaluation Years 2 & 3

In place of question 2 above, the following question will be asked during years 2 and 3 of the evaluation:

• How have your department’s process for linking HIV and STI surveillance data evolved over the past year?

In place of question 6 above, the following questions will be asked during years 2 and 3 of the evaluation:

• What costs have your jurisdiction incurred from participating in this initiative?

  • Do you anticipate your jurisdiction incurring any additional costs during your participation in this initiative?

  • Has your jurisdiction incurred any unexpected or unanticipated costs while participating in this initiative?

In place of question 7 above, the following questions will be asked during years 2 and 3 of the evaluation:

• What have you gained from participating in this pilot project?

  • Is there anything additional that you hope to gain from this pilot project?

The following questions will not replace any existing question, however, they will be asked in years 2 and 3 of the evaluation:

• Of the TA that you have received over the past year, what have you found to be most beneficial?

• Are there any areas where more TA might have been helpful? If so, what are those areas and what do you feel could have been done to strengthen the TA for these areas?

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