Success Bulletins
Jurisdictions are leaning into targeted STI prevention and treatment strategies by focusing on the needs and interests of local communities and delivering partnerships invested in meeting people where they are.
Select a jurisdiction below to go directly to that section.
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA VI WA WV WI WY
October 2022
The California Department of Public Health is taking a proactive approach to addressing prenatal care equity by offering services through a new open access prenatal care clinic in San Joaquin County. Opened in January 2022, the Pregnancy Connections clinic offers prenatal care to pregnant people at increased risk for contracting syphilis—a strategy directly aimed at preventing and reducing congenital syphilis cases community-wide. Through a process created with input from potentially eligible patients, Pregnancy Connections also provides comprehensive prenatal care to help minimize or eliminate barriers to prenatal care entry and retention. This includes offering substance use treatment, transportation for appointments, and also providing access to a dedicated case manager who connects patients to resources such as hotel stays during a syphilis treatment series—all contributing to the overall goal of providing prenatal care that is logistically, economically, and culturally accessible. Pregnancy Connections is funded with a small congenital syphilis special project award supported by an increase in CDC STI funding.
October 2022
The HIV, STD, and Hepatitis Section of New Mexico’s Department of Health (NMDOH) created a strategy for recruitment and retention of its Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) workforce by developing a career pathway that rewards their hard work, dedication and specialized skills and expertise related to infectious disease. There are now three distinct types of DIS with increasing responsibilities who are grouped into three different state government pay bands. In addition to the long-standing Health Educator-Basic (DIS), there are now also Health Educator-Operational (lead DIS who mentor others), and Health Educator-Advanced (DIS with the highest level of interview skills adept at handling the most complex cases including congenital/maternal syphilis, HIV linkage to care, and Hepatitis C virus navigation to treatment). This means that DIS who develop expertise can stay in the field while progressing through state government jobs, with the potential to also be front-line DIS Supervisors and Disease Prevention Program Managers.
October 2022
The Office of Sexual Health and Epidemiology (OSHE) in New York State’s Department of Health is using the power and accuracy of modeling to predict outbreak trends for common STIs (gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia). Modeling, along with monthly heat maps that display observed increases, helped OSHE successfully predict STI upticks throughout the state in 2020 and 2021, and social determinants of health maps developed from the technology are helping disease intervention specialists (DIS) at public health departments around the state address local issues affecting the rise in STIs. Now that they are pivoting away from COVID-19 prevention, tracking, and treatment efforts, DIS are using these tools to directly focus on driving STI rates back down.
October 2022
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) offers innovative STI testing and prevention options that emphasize convenience, ease, and privacy. In 2018, RIDOH became the first state health department in the nation to launch a sexual health app. Operated in collaboration with the state’s family planning program, the RIghtTime App (https://www.righttimeapp.com) provides information on everything from locations of STI treatment centers, to guidance on accessing free condoms by mail, and partner notification tools—and is available in an alternative web-based version (https://apps.apptology.com/m/ridoh/). RIDOH also offers its “Testing 1-2-3” website, which gives asymptomatic people access to STI testing without having to see a doctor; they simply fill out a form online, choose a nearby lab, and the automated program generates a physician’s test order. And teaming up with overdose prevention partners, RIDOH delivers free harm reduction resources including condoms to those 18+ via harm reduction vending machines located across the state. Learn more.
October 2022
The Office of Communicable Disease of the Division of Population Health in Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services (UDHHS) works closely with the Utah Navajo Health Systems and Uintah and Ouray tribes to provide training and conduct STD/HIV case investigations. And since 2020, UDHHS has partnered with Comunidades Unidas, a local Latinx community organization, to build bridges of trusted communication for education in sexual health best practices. This includes encouraging women to seek self-empowerment in personal relationships and offering guidance to help increase comfort when discussing sexual health topics regarded by most as private or taboo. Active plans are in the works to launch similar partnerships with local Tribal partners: UDHHS aims to promote and help sustain improved community sexual health by placing DIS directly into Tribal communities for the first time in the state’s history.