# Integrating Status-Neutral Linkage to Services in Behavioral Health Organizations

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $299,464

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
To reach the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) targets for reducing new HIV infections by 2030, King County
WA must improve its plan to reach individuals with behavioral health disorders. County surveillance data reveal
very high rates of mental disorders and substance use disorder among new HIV infections since 2018.
Research has demonstrated that the HIV prevalence among people with serious mental illnesses (such as
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) is at least four times that of the general population, but that these
individuals are inconsistently tested and often missed through HIV screening efforts. Most people with the US
who have serious mental illness access the healthcare system through their mental health provider, but rates
of screening and prevention services are low in community mental health settings. The goal of this research is
to increase the capacity of King County behavioral health organizations to provide rapid HIV testing and
linkage to proven prevention services (pre-exposure prophylaxis and syringe services programs that are the
focus of the Prevent Pillar of the King County EHE plan) to reduce HIV incidence in King County. Current EHE
efforts include Learning Collaboratives--a widely-used implementation strategy to support implementation of
new services or improve care—to increase HIV testing and linkage to services in emergency departments and
primary care clinics. The current one-year proposal aims to develop an EHE Collaborative to support
behavioral health organizations to increase access to HIV testing and linkage to services among a critical
population that is not being reached by current EHE efforts. We propose to identify best practices for HIV
prevention services and barriers and facilitators to implementing a status neutral approach to HIV services. We
will utilize a mixed methods approach, collecting both quantitative data from an inventory of services and
resources completed by directors of the 25 member organizations of the King County Behavioral Health
Provider Association and qualitative data through in-depth interviews of 45 individuals who represent key
stakeholder groups in efforts to improve HIV prevention services in behavioral health organizations. This
proposal leverages a unique opportunity to layer rigorous implementation science research on existing EHE
activities, to generate knowledge both about how to build HIV prevention capacity in behavioral health
organizations and how to evaluate EHE Learning Collaboratives. At the end of the proposal, we will have a
tailored EHE Collaborative for Behavioral Health organizations which we will test in a subsequent
implementation trial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599470
- **Project number:** 3P30MH123248-02S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Jane M. Simoni
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,464
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599470

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599470, Integrating Status-Neutral Linkage to Services in Behavioral Health Organizations (3P30MH123248-02S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599470. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*