A Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Learning Approach for the Implementation of Evidence-Informed Interventions to Improve HIV-Related Health Outcomes

Alex S Keuroghlian; Linda Marc; Hilary Goldhammer; Massah Massaquoi; Alicia Downes; Joseph Stango; Hannah Bryant; Sean Cahill; Jessica Yen; Antonia C Perez; Jennifer M Head; Kenneth H Mayer; Janet Myers; Gregory M Rebchook; Beth Bourdeau; Demetrios Psihopaidas; Nicole S Chavis; Stacy M Cohen

doi:10.1007/s10461-023-04260-4

A Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Learning Approach for the Implementation of Evidence-Informed Interventions to Improve HIV-Related Health Outcomes

AIDS Behav. 2024 Feb 10. doi: 10.1007/s10461-023-04260-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Alex S Keuroghlian^{1

2

3}, Linda Marc^{4

5}, Hilary Goldhammer⁴, Massah Massaquoi⁴, Alicia Downes⁶, Joseph Stango⁶, Hannah Bryant⁶, Sean Cahill^{4

7

8}, Jessica Yen⁴, Antonia C Perez⁴, Jennifer M Head^{4

9}, Kenneth H Mayer^{4

10

11}, Janet Myers¹², Gregory M Rebchook¹², Beth Bourdeau¹², Demetrios Psihopaidas¹³, Nicole S Chavis¹³, Stacy M Cohen^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, 1340 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. akeuroghlian@fenwayhealth.org.
² Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. akeuroghlian@fenwayhealth.org.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. akeuroghlian@fenwayhealth.org.
⁴ The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, 1340 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ AIDS United, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷ Department of Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Kansas City Free Health Clinic, Kansas City, MO, USA.
⁹ Synergy Scientifics LLC, Port Orford, OR, USA.
¹⁰ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
¹¹ Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
¹² Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹³ US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau, Rockville, MD, USA.
¹⁴ Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

PMID: 38340221
DOI: 10.1007/s10461-023-04260-4

Abstract

The nationwide scale-up of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions has been widely recognized as a crucial step in ending the HIV epidemic. Although the successful delivery of interventions may involve intensive expert training, technical assistance (TA), and dedicated funding, most organizations attempt to replicate interventions without access to focused expert guidance. Thus, there is a grave need for initiatives that meaningfully address HIV health disparities while addressing these inherent limitations. Here, the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA HAB) initiative Using Evidence-Informed Interventions to Improve HIV Health Outcomes among People Living with HIV (E2i) piloted an alternative approach to implementation that de-emphasized expert training to naturalistically simulate the experience of future HIV service organizations with limited access to TA. The E2i approach combined the HAB-adapted Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Breakthrough Series Collaborative Learning Model with HRSA HAB's Implementation Science Framework, to create an innovative multi-tiered system of peer-to-peer learning that was piloted across 11 evidence-informed interventions at 25 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program sites. Four key types of peer-to-peer learning exchanges (i.e., intervention, site, staff role, and organization specific) took place at biannual peer learning sessions, while quarterly intervention cohort calls and E2i monthly calls with site staff occurred during the action periods between learning sessions. Peer-to-peer learning fostered both experiential learning and community building and allowed site staff to formulate robust site-specific action plans for rapid cycle testing between learning sessions. Strategies that increase the effectiveness of interventions while decreasing TA could provide a blueprint for the rapid uptake and integration of HIV interventions nationwide.

Keywords: Evidence-informed interventions; Experiential learning; HIV/AIDS; Implementation science; Peer-to-peer learning; Technical assistance.

Abstract

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