George Washington University Receives Grants to Improve HIV Screening & COVID-19 Vaccine Screening in Primary Care Settings

Gilead Sciences funding will support development of new model to educate clinicians

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is developing an 18-month research-informed educational initiative called the Two in One: HIV + COVID Screening and Testing Model with support from Gilead Sciences, Inc.

The Two in One program will provide primary care practitioners with training so they can routinize HIV screening for all patients, alongside screening for and administering COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Clinicians will be provided with capacity-building support and tools on how to appropriately communicate about HIV and COVID-19 to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and LGBTQIA+ patients in a culturally responsive and nonjudgmental way.

"We built this national training model to reflect and meet the goals of the nation's Healthy People 2030 goals that outlines benchmarks to achieve health equity, eliminate health disparities, and attain health literacy in the United States," said Maranda Ward, principal investigator of the Two in One Model and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at The George Washington University. "With this model, we aim to create a more understanding and culturally responsive healthcare system for patients who are disproportionately impacted by HIV and COVID-19."

The goal of the Two in One Model is to change the stigma attached to HIV and COVID vaccine screening and discomfort faced by patients and clinicians in talking openly about risks, protective factors, barriers to care, and ongoing support.

The program, which is guided by an advisory board of experts in the field, seeks to reach 10,000 primary care practitioners, including physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, and doctors of osteopathic medicine who practice across the U.S. Additionally, the program aims to actively engage the next generation of medical practitioners by recruiting students and trainees at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

"HBCUs have incredible acumen in understanding the wholistic health needs of BIPOC communities. The George Washington University's Two in One program provides a connection between HBCUs, healthcare providers and students learning at predominately white institutions to receive critical training on how to provide care rooted in cultural humility for Black and brown people," said Omoro Omoighe, senior director, Advancing Health and Black Equity, Gilead Sciences.

The two-part training series will offer nine live-streamed, continuing medical education (CME) monthly lectures as well as an asynchronous CME-bearing module-based training course and toolkit. The series will culminate in a symposium focused on translating the knowledge gained from the speaker series into policy-based and practice-based action. There will also be research that informs this series and its advocacy messages.

For more information on this research-informed model, visit the Two-in-One website at: twoinone.smhs.gwu.edu.

SOURCE The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences