2010 CDC Health Communication, Marketing, and Media Conference Highlights

By Michelle Samplin-Salgado, AIDS.gov New Media Strategist

Last week in Atlanta I joined nearly 1,000 health communicators at CDC’s 4th Annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media. The theme of this year’s conference was “Convergence: Purpose, Programs, & Partners.” From the opening session, to the numerous panels, to the tweet up, to the closing session, the conference emphasized a “forward movement of partnerships and programs toward a common purpose.” The conference was divided into four complimentary tracks:

The Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy talks about the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the future

by Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

Last month I spoke with Chris Collins, Vice President of Public Policy at American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and David Munar, Vice President of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago about their efforts with the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy . The Coalition was founded in September 2007 and is comprised of over 500 organizations and 2,400 individuals.

Chris and David talked about the importance of community involvement during the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and it's implementation. The following video highlights that discussion.

Continuing Our Commitment to Prioritizing HIV/AIDS

By Jeffrey S. Crowley, M.P.H., Director, Office of National AIDS Policy (Cross-posted from the Office of National AIDS Policy Blog)

Today, the Obama Administration is taking new action to prioritize support for Federal HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs.  We are sending to the Congress an amendment to the President’s FY 2011 budget request to increase HIV/AIDS funding by $65 million.  This is comprised of a requested $35 million increase for HIV prevention in order to continue exciting new HIV prevention activities described below to support the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and a $30 million increase for State AIDS drug assistance programs to respond to the ongoing crisis States are facing in operating these essential programs.  These resources come on top of proposed increases for HIV prevention and care at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that were included in the original budget submission.  Ultimately, the Congress will enact a budget that will establish Federal funding levels for the fiscal year that begins on October 1st.

Last month, the Obama Administration released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.  This was the product of a robust dialogue with the HIV community and other members of the public and identifies a small set of priority action steps for moving the Nation forward in responding to the domestic HIV epidemic.  On the evening of July 13th, the President hosted a reception for the HIV community at the White House where he spoke about the Strategy and his commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS.  He said the following,

Now, I know that this strategy comes at a difficult time for Americans living with HIV/AIDS, because we’ve got cash-strapped States who are being forced to cut back on essentials, including assistance for AIDS drugs.  I know the need is great.  And that’s why we’ve increased Federal assistance each year that I’ve been in office, providing an emergency supplement this year to help people get the drugs they need, even as we pursue a national strategy that focuses on three central goals.

HHS Plans National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation

By Dr. Ron Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HHS National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Group meeting

Yesterday the Department of Health and Human Services convened the first meeting of its HHS National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Group. Comprised of representatives of 10 operational divisions and more than 13 staff offices from across HHS, the Implementation Group is tasked with preparing the agency’s operational plan for implementing the Strategy. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh and I are coordinating the agency-wide planning efforts.

In response to the Presidential memo that accompanied the release of the Strategy, the HHS operational plan will assign responsibilities to agency officials, designate reporting structures for actions identified in the Federal Implementation Plan, and identify other appropriate actions to advance the Strategy. The plan will also include steps to strengthen coordination in planning, budgeting for, and evaluating domestic HIV/AIDS programs within and across agencies.

Data Academy: Providing Training and Technical Assistance around HIV Data to Ryan White Grantees and Program Staff

By Michelle Samplin-Salgado, AIDS.gov New Media Strategist

We’ve talked a lot about the importance of knowing your audiences and their information needs. Our colleagues at the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HAB/HRSA) provide training and technical assistance (TA) to Ryan White grantees and program staff about how to manage data. In response to feedback and a process to identify unmet TA needs, HAB/HSRA developed Data Academy , a series of on-demand, web-based training modules about how to collect, use and share data. We spoke to Mira Levinson, Project Director, to learn how and why they developed Data Academy. Here’s what she had to say:

Data Academy is based on feedback we received from Ryan White grantees and program staff about what kinds of support they needed to help manage, report and use their data. We used the POST strategy to figure out exactly what information would be most important to convey, and the most effective way for grantees to access the information.