The proposed spatial analysis project seeks to develop mapping of available HIV/STD testing services overlapped with HIV prevalence rates to help identify gaps in services in the Metro Detroit area. While there are apps and online tools for finding local HIV/STD testing sites, community residents often don’t know how to access these services or have transportation to get to the sites. This would help UNIFIED - HIV Health and Beyond determine priority areas for expansion of outreach and HIV/STD testing services into areas that lack these resources and experience high rates of HIV infection. Ideally, the project could also incorporate data on availability of public transportation services to further define areas that should be prioritized for outreach services and linkage to HIV/STD testing due to limited access.
We have extensive epidemiological data related to HIV and other STDs through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, including the ability to request special data sets as needed.
There are already existing HIV/STD testing site locators that can be used to map these resources.
Public transportation routes can be mapped easily with information from the City of Detroit and other municipalities.
Finally, existing programmatic data would be available to determine zip codes and neighborhood where current outreach and HIV/STD testing services are provided.
The project would result in maps of various counties the make up the Metro Detroit area, showing the location of HIV/STD testing sites overlapped with HIV prevalence rates. A third overlay would include public transportation routes and their proximity to the areas with high HIV prevalence, as well as any connection to the identified HIV/STD testing sites. In addition, we expect this project to also develop a report that would outline recommendations for outreach and HIV/STD testing service expansion based on finding from the mapping. This would help identify priority geographic areas for service expansion.
The maps and reports would be reviewed and shared with key staff involved in outreach and HIV/STD testing services. They will be used to develop service expansion strategy based on prioritized geographic areas, including the identification of potential community partners that can increase capacity for service delivery. In addition, depending on the result of the project and size of prioritized areas, these maps and reports might also be shared with funders and used in grant proposals to request funding to support service expansion. Finally, the maps and reports might also be shared with local government officials to advocate for additional resources and/or to educated them about the gaps in services and challenges with accessibility to these important health resources.
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