(P154) HIV Prevention Learning Community: Improving HIV Services through a Peer-to-Peer Learning Community

The CDC-funded New York City STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (PTC) received a CDC grant to assist specific STI and primary care clinics with clinical HIV prevention services. To support clinics’ efforts, the PTC developed an HIV prevention learning community (LC), which launched 11/2021. The LC’s purpose is to provide peer-to-peer learning where clinics share ideas and receive feedback on HIV prevention services. The LC format is bimonthly one-hour sessions that include didactic presentations, clinic sharing, and discussion.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention has been available since 2012, yet disparities around awareness, reach, and access persist. STI and primary care clinics are well-suited to provide PrEP. A learning community provides an opportunity to connect clinics pursuing similar goals. The format allows flexibility to address individual clinical capacity, and opportunity to hear and learn from peers’ clinical experiences.

Seven sessions of the LC were held between 11/21 and 12/22. Implementation facilitators included: pre-selected audience with project buy-in, clinical faculty with topic expertise, capacity for real-time evaluations, and flexibility to choose topics based on clinic needs and current events. Implementation barriers included: Zoom fatigue (cameras off, varying engagement), and addressing needs of diverse clinic attendees (geographic location, clinic type and capacity, competing priorities, and HIV prevention knowledge). Sessions were evaluated in real-time via Zoom polling, and a Qualtrics end-of-year evaluation was conducted. Results included: 100% of respondents (n=11) rated the LC as somewhat or very valuable and 82% reported being somewhat or very satisfied with the structure (4-point Likert scales). 82% reported making practice changes because of the LC.

The LC is an excellent and accessible format to provide virtual learning, allowing clinical sites to engage as both learners and educators through sharing best practices. In our program, staff from each of the clinics consistently attended the sessions, indicating ongoing interest and the LC’s potential for impact. The LC is considered valuable by attendees and is a sustainable avenue through which to support clinics’ efforts to implement practice change. PTC will continue the LC to focus on existing and new clinic projects and expand to more sexual health topics.