Section 2: Special-Needs Populations
The CARE Act requires that needs assessments and comprehensive plans
used by planning councils in setting priorities and allocating funds
identify and address the unmet service needs of special populations.
In planning for special populations, unmet needs may refer to the
service needs of persons not currently in the system of HIV/AIDS care.
It may also refer to persons in the system of HIV/AIDS care whose needs
are being only partially met. Determining unmet needs among special or
targeted populations, which should be carried out during needs
assessment, is important in determining how to direct resources to PLWH
who may be disenfranchised from HIV/AIDS care services.
As of the FY 2002 application cycle, HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau
identified the following populations as requiring special attention
during the planning and resource allocations processes conducted in
Title I EMAs and Title II states:
- youth 13–24 years of age
- injection drug users
- substance users other than injection drug users
- men of color who have sex with men
- white, or Anglo, men who have sex with men
- women of childbearing age (13 years of age and older)
In addition, CARE Act applicants are encouraged to identify other
populations that have been significantly or disproportionately affected
by the epidemic. Evidence indicating that a population has been
significantly affected should be provided by the data included for
underserved populations. These data should come from epidemiologic
profiles and needs assessments and may also include other national and
local data.
Go
to Chapter 5, Section 3
|
