Enhancing STI and Sexual Health Clinic Infrastructure (ESSHCI)

The purpose of this NOFO is to strengthen clinic infrastructure and expand access to comprehensive sexual health services.* Strategy A (core strategy for Y1) will foster community engagement and strategic partnerships to support expansion of sexual health services. Associated activities: build community connections to engage priority populations and mobilize public health partners, and develop a community-informed, clinic-level plan to increase access to quality comprehensive sexual health services. Strategy B (core strategy for Y1-5) will strengthen clinic infrastructure and provision of comprehensive sexual health services. Associated activities: conduct clinic infrastructure assessment, implement a clinic-level plan to increase access to sexual health services, implement additional evidence-based approaches to enhance clinic sexual health services, and assess and improve the patient clinic experience. Strategy C (optional strategy for Y1-5) will fund a subset of proposed short-term activities each budget period to expand access to STI prevention and other sexual health services supporting a syndemic approach. NOFO outcomes include increased community involvement in clinic-level planning, increased engagement with public health partners, increased access to & capacity to provide comprehensive sexual health services, improved patient clinic experience, increased identification of new STIs, and increased linkage to prevention and care services for co-occurring conditions.*Sexual health services cover broad preventive and treatment approaches related to sexual health including taking a sexual history and risk assessment; education and counseling; testing and treatment for HIV and other STIs; hepatitis B and C screening; PrEP/nPEP for HIV prevention; contraception; condoms; and recommended vaccinations.

All applicants must submit a letter (one page or less) from the clinical service provider where the work will be implemented. Title this document “Clinical Provider” and upload it as a PDF file in the application submitted at www.grants.gov. Applicants who do not provide this statement will be considered non-responsive to this NOFO and will not receive further review. Please note: Sections 317 and 318 of the PHS Act authorize funding to States, political subdivisions of States, and any other public and nonprofit private entities, but do not authorize awards to for-profit entities.Applicants who do not include Strategies A and B in their application will be deemed non-responsive and their application will not be reviewed.Applicants must clearly state the strategies to which they are applying in the Project Abstract Summary. When including this information in the Project Abstract Summary, please identify the strategies as they are used in the logic model; possible options are provided below.This application includes Strategies A and B.This application includes Strategies A, B, and C.